The 29th edition of Poetry Africa is six weeks away, and this year, poets and participants will be investigating the theme: POETRY: ARCHITECTURE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE. Considering that two of the cornerstones of a life worth living and a society of worth are arts and culture, the interrogation of poetry as the structural framework that builds and sustains movements for equity, inclusion and transformation allows us to navigate what it means to build a more equitable and just world for all. The theme explores how poetic expression constructs bridges across societal divides, giving voice to the marginalised and challenging systemic injustices. Words and those who wield them are vital in fighting against injustice and creating meaning in a world where so often actions are senseless and so many are voiceless.
If anyone knows the value of this, it is the featured poet for this year’s festival, Ari Sitas. As a sociologist, poet, dramatist, writer, ensemble leader, and civic activist, he has used poetry to build a vision of a better future and as a critique of both the past and the present. In his collection of essays, The Flight of the Gwala-Gwala Bird, Ari, who has always taken the cultural world of workers seriously, addressed the complex question of working-class culture. He mounted a critique of post-apartheid South Africa in his rich, multi-layered tapestry of sociological insight into our transition, The Mandela Decade 1990 -2000, in which he used poetry to argue that the promise of the Mandela Decade failed. Sitas is a poet who uses words as scaffolding on which to steady the present moment and as a launch pad for the future, where we can all dream of a more equal and just society.
He has been a recipient of many honours, including the Order of Mapungubwe in Silver for his contribution to the social sciences and the arts. Although he retired from the University of Cape Town’s Sociology Department and his titular Gutenberg Chair at the University of Strasbourg, he joined the Africa Open Institute as an Extraordinary Honorary Professor at the end of 2023. He recently launched his genre-busting book, Passageworks, a project of the Africa Open Institute in association with Professor Lou-Marie Kruger and Helene van Aswegen from the Book Workshop. His launch conversation with William Kentridge and Sarah Mosoetsa delved into the depths of threnody, examining how siyakhala (lamentation) has been woven into sonic landscapes.
Poetry Africa will be hosted at the Seabrookes Theatre at Durban High School from the 6th to the 11thof October. Following the success of presenting hybrid events, the online component will continue to be an essential part of the programme, enabling a global audience to take part. There are seventy poets from South Africa, Mexico, Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan, Palestine, Somalia, Uganda, Reunion Island, the UK, the US, Jamaica, India, Côte d’Ivoire, Ukraine, and Brussels.
An event of this scope would be impossible without the assistance of the many partners to whom the centre is grateful, including the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, University of Johannesburg Arts and Culture Centre, French Institute of South Africa. The full programme and ticket sales will be released on Monday, the 25th of August.