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Read as much as you write; be passionate - this is the advice learners got from a group of poets performing tonight at the Spoken Word festival.
POETRY is when you put words on fire; this was the emphatic wisdom of Bassey Ikpi, one of the poets performing at Arts Alive's Speak the Mind festival.
"It's also about making a bond with what you're feeling," said Ikpi, who was part of a band of poets who descended on Alexandra's San Kopano Centre to explain poetry to aspiring writers at a workshop.
Bassey Ikpi will be performing at Bassline
Ikpi, who was born in Nigeria and grew up in Oklahoma, United States, said her earlier life experiences nurtured her into becoming a poet. Living in an all-Europe descendant neighbourhood, she had to manoeuvre around identity-defining intricacies.
"It was important for me to find a way to tell where I was from," she stated. "Everybody has a story to tell and everybody's story is important."
From her story, it became clear to the other participants that one's surroundings played a critical role in the words they wrote.
Kojo Baffoe, who grew up in Lesotho and who has been performing in Johannesburg for 10 years, drove the message home that commitment to writing was what produced a good poet. "I write because I can't stop writing," said Baffoe. "It's what I do and I love it."
The aspiring teenage poets from Minerva Secondary School who attended the workshop also learned that reading a lot was part of the process of being a prolific writer. There was an inseparable line between reading and writing, said Ikpi. "You are not a writer if you are not a reader."
Sage Has.son, a poet from Nigeria, spoke passionately about the importance of "emotions in words" to make meaningful poetry. "I always tell people that poetry is emotions."
And Teba Shumba, the organiser of Speak the Mind, said: "We use words to inspire people. Word is power, word is energy and the energy starts when the word is written."
Recitals
"I am me and there's no-one in the entire world who is like me," read a line in a poem by 16-year-old Odwa Ma-awu; the poem was written in 10 minutes, following a challenge thrown out by Has.son to write some lines after they got an understanding of the fundamentals of poetry.
Like his peers, Ma-awu was reciting to a crowd for the first time. The teenagers learned a lot from the world-travelling poets, who also recited their work.
"I learned that poets learn a lot from reading other poets and writers," said Aviwe Dyantyi; Xolile Maqhoga, who recited his Zulu poem, titled "Intombi yami" (my girlfriend), learned that poetry "is all expression".
"I learned that imbongi [traditional poet] also learns from his environment, and so I can also write about Alex," said Mduduzi Makhanya.
Bassline
The workshop in Alex was part of the Speak the Mind festival, which kicks off at Bassline tonight, 11 September at 8pm. It is on again tomorrow night at the same time.
Has.son said he would bring his style of social revolution to the line-up of poets at Bassline. "My poetry is abstract rebellion. I rebel against the norms of society," he said. "I don't rebel against anyone, not with the government. I rebel against anything that stops someone from developing themselves."
Ikpi, who lists writers such as Chinua Achebe and Sonia Sanchez as her influences, will take the audience on a journey of sentimental life stories. In a poem she recited at the workshop, she reflected on the thoughts of Britney Spears, the American pop singer who had a tumultuous time in 2008.
"My work is very personal. It speaks on emotions," said the dreadlocked Ikpi. "I come from both Africa and America, so I bring the best of both worlds."
The festival also features Botswana's award-winning performance poet, TJ Dema, who, at the Alex workshop, emphasized the importance of reading. Burni Arman of the successful Cape Town female rap trio, Godessa, will recite her work; Baffoe is also in the line up.
Kabomo Vilakazi, Nomsa Mazwai and Likwid Tongue Collective will spice up Bassline in pure Joburg fashion, and Melisizwe Moni will add more Cape Town flavour.
Neo Muyanga, a singer who plays guitar and piano, will collaborate with Madosini Mpahleni, who has been hailed as the queen of Xhosa music, to bring an exceptional taste of music. Ntjapedi, the Vaal's soulful trio, will add an acoustic flavour to the sounds that will reverberate through the venue tonight.
Tickets for each show are available at Computicket outlets, on 083 915 8000 or 011 340 8000, or through the Computicket website for R50.
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