Slamming it with passion of spoken word that binds us all

Carla Lever speaks to slam poet and performer Siphokazi Jonas.

Your poetry engages very deliberately with political and personal questions of identity. What kinds of ideas are you most passionate about spreading?

It’s all about the importance of autonomy in telling your story. I’m really interested in writing about and staging narratives which are not seen regularly, particularly about the lives of black women.

Do you think there’s a space for poetry to reach people politically where newspaper reports or debate can’t?

Absolutely – poetry has a unique way of humanising the players in a political story. There is room for publishing poetry in newspapers and other media which could widen the scope of who has access to our work.

We come from a long history of protest poetry. But now, it feels like there is a generational shift: a group of passionate

young people who are ready to make their own political points outside of the traditionally political works of the past. Is this a good time to be a young poet? This is a fantastic time to be a poet! The shifts happen as politics and concerns change. Poetry gives us a platform not only to wrestle with past and present, but also to engage with an imagined future.

Sometimes, no matter how familiar we are with a work, we can still read something and have a strong emotional reaction to it. Can you give us a couple of lines of your own poetry that still hit home for you?

Here’s an extract from Making Bread:

Every December, in exchange for Tupperware full of roosterkoek

Tried over coals, I present uMama with English poems

To match the decadence of the season. (English, with its heavy hand of sugar, corrodes my vernacular,

English poems do not let me forget that the bowl I work in is borrowed).

In 2016, you released some of your poetry in a very unusual format: a DVD. Can you tell us a little about why you did that and how it’s been received?

The DVD was to capture the verve and fire of the spoken word which often disappears once you leave the stage. Although it was received well, the best platforms for distribution are now online.

You’ve had some great success in big slam poetry competitions. What has been your most exciting experience?

Slam is quite a competitive format of performance and poses a challenge to the poet because of all the rules and time constraints. My favourite thing is how the slams tend to feel like collaborations instead of competitions.

I first encountered your work when you performed with the “Rioters in Session” poetry collective.

I’ve had the pleasure of being part of a number of their performances, though I’m not officially part of their collective. In their own words, Rioters in Session was “organised [as] an intuitive community for POC poetry women to share their work in a soft and safe space with a gentle audience”.

Why is it important for poets, storytellers, performers to have spaces to share their work and for people to be able to share and discuss it together?

We have an incredible history of storytelling and poetry in this country which has been integral as a way of archiving history, binding communities together, holding leaders accountable, protesting injustice, etc. I believe we are seeing the same at the moment.

How can we encourage young people to get involved with poetry and storytelling? Are there resources or organisations you could direct them to?

The best way is to read poetry and also watch material online, follow poetry houses on social media, such as Hear My Voice, Word and Sound, Poetry Africa, Poet in a Suit, Inzync Poetry, Grounding Sessions, Current State of Poetry, Words in My Mouth Poetry Slam. If there are no existing book clubs or poetry groups, start them right where you are! For more information about the Nal’ibali campaign, or to access children’s stories in a range of South African languages, visit: www.nalibali.org.