I Write Who I Am an anthology of Upstart poems will be re-launched at the Schreiner:Karoo Writer’s Festival on Thursday, the 8th of August at 17.30 at the NG Mother Church Hall. The anthology is a collection of poems written by 19 Upstart members who all attend local high schools in Joza, Grahamstown and are members of the Upstart Youth Development Project. Under the mentorship of internationally renowned poet Harry Owen, this group of Upstarters have been meeting on a weekly basis to further their love of poetry. Of the experience of working with this group Harry Owen says, “It isn’t often that one is afforded the chance to work on something truly extraordinary, something that can make a real, tangible difference to the quality of people’s lives – including one’s own. Still less is this so when the ‘work’ involved is both inspiring and hugely enjoyable. But I have had the great good fortune to be given just such a chance”. Lulama Fatyela a Grade 11 learner whose poems are included in the anthology and who lost both his parents within a year says, Every week when I meet with Upstart I forget to think about all my troubles. The poetry has helped me cope, because I can put my feelings on paper and express them in poetry”. The title of this collection of poems is derived from the title of Black Consciousness leader Stephen Bantu Biko’s seminal book, I write what I like. When the poetry group met in a seminar room at Rhodes University to finalise this collection and decide on the title, the irony was not lost on us. We recalled that many years ago Biko was not welcomed at Rhodes and the authorities would not permit him to live in the residence. Fortunately these young poets live in a different world from the brutal racism and segregation of the apartheid period, though they continue to daily confront and battle to overcome the bitter legacies of apartheid. They are young people who are determinedly trying to carve out a future for themselves, drawing on their pride in themselves, and on their values, education, culture and community. Moreover, it is Biko’s inspirational values and example that animate these young people from Grahamstown. MEC for Sports Recreation, Arts & Culture of the Eastern Cape, Ms Xoliswa Tom in address to the National Arts Festival says: “I want to compliment internationally celebrated poet and literature teacher, Harry Owen, who came from Europe to embrace this province as his own and to lead the children of this province to find a love for poetry and literature. Through the Festival’s partnership with the Upstart Youth Leadership Development and media-educator Shireen Badat and the Grocott Mail who are the drivers of this literary project, I look forward to seeing this poetry book being distributed to as many schools as possible so that we continue to inspire our children to read, to learn and to enquire about the world they live in”.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 09:11:54 +0000
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