Irish writer and poet Seamus Heaney, who won the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature, has died.
Antjie Krog has diverged from the popular route of cheer and optimism in South Africa, describing instead a country devoid of common ground.
Korean poet Ko Un discusses his work, his life, and the importance of writing in his mother tongue.
A conceptually explosive poetry event will take place on the Spier wine estate outside Stellenbosch on May 10 and 11.
Pablo Neruda was that rare thing – a public poet, and a great one, held in deep affection by every layer of Chilean society.
How many more necklacings will we turn into poems? Who will be the first to pen an epic in response to the Marikana massacre?
Listen to South African poet Oswald Mtshali reading one of his poems in both English and Zulu at the Mail & Guardian Literary Festival.
Listen to SA poet, novelist and founding member of the Sestigers, Breyten Breytenbach, reading one of his poems at the M&G Literary Festival.
Listen to South African poet and writer Rustum Kozain reading one of his poems at the Mail & Guardian Literary Festival.
New Contrast has a new look. Blood-red and slim with elegant type adorning 100-odd pages, the journal’s latest issue is all minimalist restraint.
Andile Mngxitama responds to Kwanele Sosibo’s article on Lesego Rampolokeng’s new book, which he says was a gratuitous denunciation of Rampolokeng.
A new book of poetry renders its writer even more abstruse and, given its profanity and obsessiveness, it is a tough chew, writes Kwanele Sosibo.
It has been 25 years since the death of Dambudzo Marechera, the joker of African literature and its
anti-hero.
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/ 24 February 2012
<b>Kylie Thomas</b> is impressed by five titles from Modjaji Books, a publishing house that specialises in the work of Southern African women.
Widely acknowledged as the greatest living Arab poet, the Syrian-born Adonis is a fiercely independent thinker.
The politics of apartheid constrained both the substance and the form of David Manisi’s poetry.
Isobel Dixon’s latest collection of poetry initiates a move away from "the precious milk and honey of nostalgia".
In all her poetry Ingrid de Kok has deftly pushed at the boundaries of what can be said and reminded us of what we would rather forget.
Introduced by Antjie Krog, Ingrid de Kok and Denis Hirson will discuss their poems at the festival.
Freedom of speech is the name of the game in Revolution Square where new publications have blossomed and women recite poetry in public.
Graduations took place all over the country last month. Flashbulbs popped on stages as chancellors conferred degrees on the bowed heads of thousands.
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/ 12 October 2010
Percy Zvomuya writes that it’s easy to see why poet Frank Chipasula was exiled for two decades from Kamuzu Banda’s Malawi.
According to the festival organisers it will feature a poet of "high excellence who reflects Dennis’s passion for human rights and integrity".
There’s a rare opportunity to catch one of Ionesco’s strangest plays this weekend.
Patti Smith’s memoir, <em>Just Kids</em>, captures all the elements that made 1970s New York so exciting.
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/ 30 October 2009
Stephen Gray visits Cape Verde, one of the world’s most arid desert islands, and discovers hope and an extraordinary lyricism amid the poverty.
Percy Zvomuya chats to poets Keorapetse Kgositsile and Lesego Rampolokeng about literacy and mimicry ahead of this year’s Jozi Spoken Word Festival.
Zimbabwean poet Chirikure Chirikure will lead a concert aimed at raising awareness on Zimbabwe at Bassline. Precy Zvomuya spoke to him.
The expressive poet Mutabaruka chats to Percy Zvomuya ahead of this year’s Urban Voices Festival.
Poet Mahmoud Darwish united the fractured and fragmented Palestinian people, writes Uri Avnery.
Percy Zvomuya meets an artist who is championing women in the arts.
Kay Ryan, an award-winning poet, mountain-bike rider and self-described ”modern hermit”, has been named the next United States poet laureate.