Poets celebrate World Poetry Day

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MBABANE – Local poets celebrated World Poetry Day yesterday.

This year’s theme has been dubbed µ$lways be a 3oet, even in prose’ /ocal poets have also weighed in on the international celebration of the form of e[pression

The likes of sensational poets like 0arava the 3oet, Christian 0a] and 0aMaha 1konyane were given the opportunity by this publication to speak about what this day symbo lises to them and what it means for their art to be celebrated

Christian 0a] shared that their work as healers of the mind and spirit was recognised on a global scope

³I am a healer and I consider fel low poets’ healers too so this day to me means that we are doing great,´ mentioned 0a] He is a 6ocial 0e dia $ward winner for 3oet of the

$nother 6:$0$ award winner for %est 3oet is 1konyane, who shared that the craft locally needed a bigger space as it was growing vastly

The same sentiments were shared by 0avara the 3oet, who recently recorded an astonishing likes for his poem a week after was posted on social media

The poet said ³The most dramat ic change is that contemporary po etry has become more accessible In other words, poems are easier to understand and the words and mean ings resonate with us Contemporary poems tap into real feelings and im ages that pertain to the human con dition using words that we can un derstand ´

Celebrated

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:orld 3oetry Day is celebrated on 0arch , and was declared by the 8nited 1ations (ducational, 6ci entific and Cultural Organisation 81(6CO in , µwith the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic e[pression and in creasing the opportunity for endan gered languages to be heard’

This year’s theme speaks of prose 3rose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language’s ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing

It differs from most traditional poetry, where the form consists of verses based on rhythmic meter or rhyme

The celebration’s purpose is to promote the reading, writing, pub lishing, and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the original 81(6CO declaration says, µto give fresh recognition and impe tus to national, regional, and interna tional poetry movements’

3reviously, it was celebrated in October, but in the century the

th world community celebrated it on the th, the birthday of 9irgil, the 5oman epic 3oet and poet laureate under $ugustus The tradition to keep the October date for national or international poetry day celebra tions still holds in many countries The 8nited .ingdom 8. general ly uses the first Thursday in October, but elsewhere a different October, or even sometimes a 1ovember date, is celebrated

Uniting

:orld 3oetry Day celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic e[pression and identity 3oems have long been a catalyst for dialogue and peace, and for uniting people and cultures in a common humanity and shared values

µHow do I love thee" /et me count the ways ’ ± :riter (li]abeth %ar rett %rowning dedicated this iconic poem to her husband 5obert %rown ing, but her famous sonnet could Must as easily declare love for poetry itself :e can all do that on :orld 3oetry Day 3oetry uses rhythms and imagery to elicit emotion and the imagination of the reader 3oet ry can rhyme, using what are called meters of long and short syllables 6ome poetry, written in what’s called µfree verse,’ doesn’t employ rhyme or meters

Enjoy

³3oems are broken into stan]as, which are like paragraphs, and can be up to lines long :e believe the first known poem appeared 4

years ago in %abylon Today, countless types of poems are avail able to enMoy, including haikus, lim ericks, sonnets, and ballads

3oetry is a beautiful form of e[ pression 1o other type of literature creates such a plethora of feelings and emotions as the abstraction of poetry The earliest poetry is be lieved to have surfaced with the µ(pic of *ilgamesh’, sometime during % C , but it is likely that poetry e[isted even before the spread of literacy

Explore

Different types of poetry have trended during different eras, and undergone transformations )rom sonnets to rap lyrics, the core pur pose of poetry remains the same to e[plore the human condition and in voke emotion through words 3oetry resonates with the e[istential dilem mas of mankind, e[huming ideas from deep within

:orld 3oetry Day every year on 0arch is celebrated , celebrating a linguistic e[pression that people from all cultures can be identified with 3oetry can be found in the history of every nation, and brings us together under shared values and common humanity The most basic of poems have the power to stir di alogue

81(6CO hopes to inspire the cel ebration of poetry all over the world, preserve endangered languages and stimulate poetic e[pression through this day 3oets, both past and pres ent, are honoured, and oral traditions of reciting poetry are revived 5ead ing, writing, and teaching poetry are encouraged, and converged with other mediums of e[pression such as music, dance, painting and more

$ somewhat historic moment occurred in Must after the CO9ID pandemic broke, local poets fought to keep the fire burning for the celebration of poets

Declaration

On 0arch , Must three days after the declaration of a 1ational (mer gency, poetess 6enetisiwe *inind]a from the rural area of =andondo, announced undertaking a µ9irtual Tour,’ to recite poetry for her fans, in the comfort of her home, broadcast ing live on social media platforms Her tour kicked off with her reciting a selection of poetry pieces from her room, on Twitter live on 0arch ,

recognising International 3oet ry Day

The poetess showed an undeniable range in her art, with pieces that touched on themes such as self love, mental health and spirituality, to em power and raise awareness )or the /onely 1ights tour, she has chosen to echo love, break ups and embrace the softness and vulnerability in sol itude, befitting the necessary social distancing as a precautionary mea sure against the coronavirus 6he will end her tour on the )acebook live tomorrow %y establishing such an initiative with this virtual tour, she hopes to inspire more artists to be creative with their art in any sit uation This relentlessness was seen from other poets around the world too

(Courtesy pics) 1. Local Poet better known as the Silent Writer. 2. Poetess Senetisiwe Ginindza, one of the first local Poets to rally up for the art of poetry during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 3. Award-winning Poet Christian Maz, who is well-known locally and across the borders for his intense renditions. 4. Award-winning poet Majaha Nkonyane rendering a poem. He is one of the most passionate poets in the kingdom.