Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Word festival celebrates poetry
THE 2018 Naked Word Festival had its official opening yesterday and will run until tomorrow in Observatory.
“Last year, poets from all over the country came together to celebrate poetry and the spoken word and we expect this year’s festival to be even bigger,” says Mbongeni Nomkonwana, managing director of Lingua Franca Spoken Word Movement which organises the festival.
Today will be jam-packed with the poetry of the youth: Sgela youth poetry slam; the official Naked Word Festival poetry competition Naked Slam; a showcase from The Cypher; and to close the night, the Naked Word Poetry Session featuring the Lingua Franca Band with Mthunzikazi Mbongwana, Afeefa Omar, Lee Mokobe, Anele Kose, Tauriq Jenkins, Torsten Clear Rybka and MoAfrika ‘a Mokgathi.
Tomorrow will begin with a panel discussion on the topic “Far Away From Home”, highlighting the lived experiences of those who have left home in search of new lives in new lands.
The festival will conclude with the popular poetry showcase, Rioters In Session, curated by artist and poet Khanyisile Mbongwa and featuring Siphokazi Jonas, Ashley Makue, Allison-Claire Hoskins and Jolyn Phillips.
● There are some free shows and the other events range from R40 to R100 for tickets from Webtickets or at the festival. For more information, go to https:// nwf.linguafrancapoetry.co.za/, e-mail mail@linguafrancapoetry. co.za or call Mbongeni Nomkonwana at 076 895 6093, Lwanda Sindaphi at 071 146 9631, or Javier Perez at 076 906 4332.