young basadzi - poetry hijacking

they stole his shoes and his poetry,
and left a flimsy wallet.
his brain tapped, sapped of the syrup
that once sweetened this walking...

his poetry hijacked,
he was forced to see the streets soulless,
his steps don't rhyme with the rhythms of this city...

they stole his shoes and his poetry...


written by a Kenyan friend, Julia.

Inspired by an true incident where after a poetry session, a fellow member was held at knife-point near the taxi-rank in town. They demanded and robbed him of his shoes and when they discovered that his wallet was empty, they then snatched his bag which must have had over 100 poetry pieces. This has not however, stopped him from writing - and he still faithfully comes to our sessions every Thursday and fiercely writes his world.

We then came about this notion - what if the criminals out there are not interested in your wallet, and they just want your poetry...? beware - qaphela!

ARTS FOR HUMANITY

19 & 20 November saw us partake in a special exhibition by AFH, www.afh.org.za where 40 women artists - 20 poets and 20 visual artists presented their work in the fight for children's rights!


my sweet girl

it is the vulnerability of your innocence that I vow to protect.
For I value the peace that I find in your laughter
seek courage in the fierceness of your tight hug
am inspired by the directness of your truth.
In you I see myself as you learn and grow
full of opinions and impossible questions
running into the wildness of your own imagination.
Playing is the only work you should know
passionate about living you sing with the birds
sleeping dreams of future worlds.
You make me human again.

This is a poem, which made sense to me and answered my to be a part of this programme. I truly believe that children remain our closest connection to humanity, and divinity – and indeed to the great artist of all, GOD. It is by Myesha Jenkins – one of the 40 PLUS women who have enthusiastically taken part in this project - Women for Children…

if you feel as deeply about this plight - then i urge you to make a pledge by contacting AFH: afh@dit.ac.za

[picture of a sweet little girl at an orphanage in La Mercy- September, 2005]

BOOK-LAUNCH at Ike's in Durban

Adams Campus Bookshop and IKE’s Books & Collectables in association with Jacana Publishers invite you and a partner to the launch of KHABZELA : The Life and Times of Yfm DJ , Fana Khaba who died of AIDS on 14 January 2004 , aged 35

Date: THURS 24 NOV , 5.30 for 6.00 pm
Venue : Ike’s Books , 48A Florida Rd (opp. Bean Bag Restaurant) , ph: 303-9214
Guest Speakers : author,Liz McGregor and AIDS journalist , Kerry Cullinan
RSVP : cedric@adamsbooks.co.za or ph/sms : 082-873-2702

Khabzela by Liz McGregor , concerns the brief life and perplexing death of Fana Khaba , a.k.a. Khabzela, a youth icon whose brief life mirrors that of the first generation to reach adulthood after liberation .
Born and brought up in dire poverty in Soweto , he managed against all the odds to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a DJ . No sooner had he achieved this , than he fell ill with AIDS .

The central question of this timely and astonishing book is : why didn’t he take anti- retrovirals and save his own life ?

Liz McGregor’s search for an answer takes the reader on a journey through modern South Africa ; the taxi wars and the birth of the kwaito generation , the negotiation of sexual relations in a world where sex can mean death and the flourishing of a new industry of miracle-peddlers feeding off the AIDS epidemic .
Edwin Cameron, author of Witness to Aids, comments : Liz McGregor’s account of the choices and circumstances that caused this talented and visionary young man to die , when he could have had life , is riveting and deeply moving .

Liz McGregor

Liz McGregor is the author of a biography of Khabzela, the Yfm DJ who died of AIDS in January 2004. She has recently returned to South Africa after 17 years abroad, including two years working as a freelance foreign correspondent in South Korea and 13 years as a staff journalist on the Guardian, where she was deputy editor of the Comment and Analysis pages. Prior to that, she worked for several local papers, including the Rand Daily Mail and Sunday Times and was a co-founder of Grassroots, the now defunct Cape Town activist community newspaper.

We do hope you can join us on Thursday 24th November at Ikes at 5:30pm for 6pm to meet Liz McGregor and to hear her pay tribute to Khabzela, a remarkable young man.

Bitish Council - International Young Publisher of the Year

What is the International Young Publisher of the Year?

This is the third year that the British Council will award the International Young Publisher of the Year (IYPY). This award celebrates the entrepreneurial abilities of a young person working in the publishing sector. Candidates are selected because of their existing contribution to the development, and potential as a leader, of the publishing sector in their country. The award recognises the importance of international experience and offers them the chance to build up their contacts with and understanding of the UK industry, one of the most important in the world. Through London Book Fair IYPY creates the space and opportunity for ideas to be cultivated, international networks developed, new work presented and rights traded.

The initiative is an innovative collaboration between British Council and London Book Fair to identify and nurture the international publishing industry's next generation of leaders, particularly those from developing and transitional countries. Central to this concept is the belief that the UK – both at and beyond London Book Fair – is a fertile ground for international networking.

IYPY is the first of a new stable of British Council international awards that celebrate and seek to assist in the development of the next generation of creative entrepreneurs from across the global creative industries.

At London Book Fair 2006, the British Council International Young Publisher of the Year award will be presented for the third time. This year young publishers from ten countries will compete for both the title and the opportunity to develop their career through international dialogue and exchange.

Eligibility

British Council offices in Argentina, Colombia, Jordan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Oman, Slovenia, South Africa and Thailand are now taking applications for participation in IYPY 2006.
Applicants should be:

· Aged between 25 and 35
· Already working within the publishing industry. This is broadly defined to include:
Publishing – including e–tailing and e–publishing
Agents
Literary festivals
Retailing
· Estimated to be a potential leader in the publishing sector in their country through their character, drive and abilities
· Speak a good conversational level of English. This is vital both for a successful presentation to the UK judging panel and for general facilitation of finalists’ stay in the UK.

In each country a national selection committee, will narrow down the list of applicants to choose the national finalist.

The ten national finalists from each country will travel to the UK in early March 2006 (25 Feb – 8 March 2006) to take part in a UK tour, attend London Book Fair and compete for the IYPY 2006 award.

How to Apply

Applicants are required to submit their applications to Anriette Chorn (preferably by e-mail - details below):
CV + a 2 or 3 pager detailing the following:

· Background of their national publishing industry
· Account of the current situation in their national publishing industry (concerning issues, etc.)
· Description of their own publishing work (personally and their publishing house as a whole)
· How their own work sits in context in the national industry/situation
· How the IYPY prize would benefit them and their work
· Applications should be submitted by the 25th November 2005

The participant will be judged both on his/her good ability to present in public and the content of their application and will also focus on two key elements which are the candidates’ quality, depth, and professionalism.

It is imperative to note that the focus is on entrepreneurship and the winners thus far have been founders of small, independent publishing companies who were risk-takers in their own careers.

The prize

The International Young Publisher of the Year 2006 will receive:

· The International Young Publisher of the Year award, designed by Ros Wyatt
· A prize fund of £7,500, which can be used in a number of ways:
Ø to develop their personal professional experience through a short course, MA course or industry
placement in the UK;
Ø to bring out to their country people they met on the UK trip; to conduct workshops and master classes thereby extending their experience to their colleagues at home; or
Ø to develop a publishing project of their choice which strengthens links between the UK and the winning country.
· Reed International, the organisers of London Book Fair, will provide the winner with a stand at London Book Fair 2007

For further information contact:

Anriette Chorn
Email: anriettechorn@britishcouncil.org.za
Telephone: +27 (0)11 718 4320
Facsimile: +27(0)11 718 4400

British Council Office in Johannesburg:

Forum 1, Braampark, 33 Hoofd Street, Braamfontein

in my bedroom...

Under my pillow lives Nina Simone – Her Autobiography i.e. – She keeps me company until I fall asleep. She unveils her life to me in a way that convinces me ukuthi we have met before, in my kitchen perhaps, where I cooked her isitambu as she sipped on my coffee-letting the colours of who she is stand out loud. I appreciate Nina Simone. And then on the floor you’ll always find my black book waiting – I say waiting because at any given moment, even ezinzulwini zobusuku, I could give birth to a poetic confession and my black book is always there to take it all in. You might find sleepers on the floor but hardly because I am almost always barefooted – I don’t keep a side table because of my untidy habits.
I have a 4 bedroom house but my bedroom IS my house – indawoyami!

sent by 23-yr old brown child, Zama Zungu - BCom student at Unisa, a Debtors Controller for a water service provider and a Poet for life

ndawoyami...

i dream of a place where this woman inside of me,
can find her true self, never to give up...
with fresh hope of a deeper meaning to what is,
seeking the truth, and discovering she is so much more -

i see this woman breaking shackles that bind her,
as she takes strides bigger than she ever imagined...
away from dillusions/illusions that shade the world blue,
in touch with the universe, energies that breathe life...

i then walk forward to meet this woman,
to share in her colourful dreams,
if only to catch a glimpse of the beauty that lies within her walls...

to this woman i sing a song,
so powerful it erupts barriers she has so protectedly built around her-
if only to free her to the sound of music...

i can not imagine a world without u, i live for u,
i refuse to let u down again - i long to see u smile...

and i dream of a place....
a place i can call my own - ndawoyami...

thoughts on alice walker

through the journey of life there'll always be nooks to explore...

Recently I read two quotations from Alice Walker and my soul froze for a millisecond...
"To me the black black woman is our essential mother--the blacker she is the more us she is-- and to see the hatred that is turned on her is enough to make me despair, almost entirely, of our future as a people"
"The gift of lonelinesss is sometimes a radical vision of society or one's people that has not previously been taken into account"
-why these quotes spoke to me then is still a mystery but so is the hole they call the moon to the blanket they call the night sky...

sent by Nomonde Maboea