/ 13 October 2011

Cape poetry pick: October 14 2011

“As a writer much of my work is prompted by what I see being ­performed on the page, on canvas, with music and so on,” says ­multitalented Jamaican poet, performer and producer Kwame Dawes.

“I like to share the full force of a poem — its inspiration and shaping — and that is part of what draws me to the collaborative act.” It is this interdisciplinary, collaborative spirit that informs the line-up of Poetry Africa’s 2011 tour programme. Dawes’s groundbreaking fusion of myth, legend, reggae and poetry is complemented by an array of genre-defying performers.

Acclaimed Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi teams up with guitarist Tibass Kangu from the Democratic Republic of Congo to offer an intimate acoustic rendition of his spirited band, ­Positive Black Soul. Kenyan poet, playwright and political economist and activist Shailja Patel delivers her unique brand of politics, performance and philosophy. Her feminist fire finds its equal in Zimbabwe’s Chiwoniso, who defies the tradition that women do not play the mbira. Other artists performing include Botswana’s feisty TJ Dema, the United Kingdom’s jazz-poetry diva Khadijatou, acclaimed Nigerian wordsmith Chris Abani, Dutch poet and composer Jaap Blonk, poet Lebo Mashile and Cape Town’s Gabeba Baderoon and San-dile Dikeni.

Cape Town International Convention Centre, Foreshore. October 15 at 7.30pm. Entrance is R70. Book at Computicket.