Unmute: Power to the Poet

Moderator: Khwezi Becker

Poets: Kwazi Ndlangisa(SA), Aziz Siten’k(Mali), Margot Delaet (Belgium), Lethu Nkwanyana(SA), Yuliya Musakovska (Ukraine), S’boniso Afrika Dlamini (SA), Makhafula Vilakazi(SA), Gboyega Odubanjo (UK), Anonym Lentz(Gabon)

During these times of a pandemic, we experience a digital highway in which we can get lost in algorithms generated for us, somewhere between fake and fact. A world in which we are unsure who or what to believe. The poet’s role is to help us persevere during these times of lockdowns, loneliness, and fear. The poet can appeal to something deep within us that is fostered within our communities. Poets can inspire with us their power to influence societies and possess the ability to show us things through a different lens. During times of fake news and authoritarian tendencies, our society may need poets more than ever to shine a light on certain truths and to unite communities. We need poets to articulate for us, give us another prospect and shift time.  Therefore, this session is themed after the festival theme: Unmute: Power to the Poet. What works will these poets bring now that the power is in their hands?