Web poet's society: African poetry goes mobile
Photos: Badilisha Poetry X-change Top 10
Kwame Dawes – Kwame Dawes is a celebrated poet, writer, documentary filmmaker and founder of the African Poetry Book Fund. He describes Badilisha as "beautifully designed, user-friendly, eclectic, intelligent, generous and constantly seeking to expand its range." He points out that at present the archive is still quite South Africa heavy, in terms of content, which is to be expected with the organization based in Cape Town.
But adds: "This is changing, and I believe that more and more voices from other parts of Africa and the Diaspora will appear on the site. It is important, very, very important."
But adds: "This is changing, and I believe that more and more voices from other parts of Africa and the Diaspora will appear on the site. It is important, very, very important."
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Photos: Badilisha Poetry X-change Top 10
Jacob Sam-La Rose – Each month, the platform invites a guest poet to curate their own Top 10 list, a popular feature on the site. Here are some of the wordsmiths included in this month's list as curated by Toni Stuart.
Explaining how she put the list together, Stuart says she started by picking out poets who challenge the way she approaches her work. "I started by drawing up a list of my favorite 10 poets at the moment -- poets whose work I keep returning to over and over again, poets who I want to read more of."
One choice was Jacob Sam-La Rose, a widely-published poet and educator based in London.
Explaining how she put the list together, Stuart says she started by picking out poets who challenge the way she approaches her work. "I started by drawing up a list of my favorite 10 poets at the moment -- poets whose work I keep returning to over and over again, poets who I want to read more of."
One choice was Jacob Sam-La Rose, a widely-published poet and educator based in London.
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Photos: Badilisha Poetry X-change Top 10
D'Bi Young – D'bi Young, pictured as a Masai warrior, is one of the poets highlighted this month. She is a progressive African-Jamaican-Canadian dubpoet, monodramatist, educator and mother.
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Photos: Badilisha Poetry X-change Top 10
Gabeba Baderoon – Project manager Linda Kaoma says that the Top 10 feature has become very popular on the online archive. "We tried to give our audience a layered experience and also interactive with poetry in different ways," she explains. "As an audience member, you might get too overwhelmed and unsure where to start and I think the Top 10 is a good way through the doorway."
Gabeba Baderoon, pictured, is a respected poet from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The recipient of the 2005 Daimler Chrysler Award for South African poetry, she is well-known for tackling sensitive topics through her delicately formed poetry. Academically she has also published numerous times on the discourse of representation of Islam, and lectured at universities in Europe and the United States.
Gabeba Baderoon, pictured, is a respected poet from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The recipient of the 2005 Daimler Chrysler Award for South African poetry, she is well-known for tackling sensitive topics through her delicately formed poetry. Academically she has also published numerous times on the discourse of representation of Islam, and lectured at universities in Europe and the United States.
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Photos: Badilisha Poetry X-change Top 10
Pieter Odendaal – Pieter Odendaal is a up-and-coming poet from Pretoria. He spends much of his time as project manager for the Stellenbosch Library Project, of which he co-founded. He also organizes the popular InZync Poetry Sessions -- workshops at local high schools and this year will embark on a a postgraduate diploma in Sustainable Development as well as hopefully publishing his debut collection of work.
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Photos: Badilisha Poetry X-change Top 10
Tania van Schalkwyk – Tania van Schalkwyk's poems reflect on the many experiences of her incredibly fascinating international background. Born in Africa, raised in Arabia before heading to Europe for her formative years, she now resides between Cape Town and the Piketberg mountains. She claims to have tried more "serious" vocations but the desire to write and perform, everywhere from theaters, bars and even the odd bathtub, has always had a stronger pull on this creative soul.
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Photos: Badilisha Poetry X-change Top 10
Jethro Louw, Diana Ferrus – He is considered the godfather of spoken word in Cape Town and when Jethro Louw, left, graces the stage with a mic in hand, th