Putuma is changing the world through poetry
Koleka Putuma has returned with the release of an audio book for her successful debut anthology, Collective Amnesia. The outspoken South African poet, queer feminist and theatre practitioner returns with her unique voice to add a sonic experience to her successful seminal work.
Collective Amnesia (The Audio Experience) is in collaboration with PaperCranes Collective, an interdisciplinary arts production company. Currently on 10 reprints in South Africa, it has also received awards including the 2018 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. Putuma moves with an unstoppable momentum and continues to unravel the disturbing collective amnesia of the nation with the release of this audio book which will be made publicly available on October 8th 2020.
Putuma is the Groundbreaking New Voice of South African Poetry
Collective Amnesia speaks to the collective consciousness of South Africa and zones in on the real harsh realities of being Black, queer and female identifying in South Africa.
Collective Amnesia speaks to the collective consciousness of South Africa and zones in on the real harsh realities of being Black, queer and female identifying in South Africa.
Gender based violence has been a plague in South Africa for years and Putuma has always had the knack to tap into the psyche and voice of the voiceless without need for flourish. Collective Amnesia was released in 2017 and became a literary antidote to the psychological oppression faced by women all over the world. The success of the book prompted a national and international tour just three months after it was published.
Writing in defiance
Putuma shot to fame on local poetry stages in Cape Town and Johannesburg. She was a prominent feature and headliner on Johannesburg's popular poetry league slamsWordnSound where the performance of her somber poem "Water" gained her respect for her literary prowess. Soon afterwards, Collective Amnesia was released and broke South Africa's book sales records. Putuma's raw and unapologetic poems have gained favour overseas with translations in Spanish. German, Dutch and Italian.
Collective Amnesia was adapted into a play titled No Easter Sunday for Queers in 2019 and was sold out every night at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. No Easter Sunday for Queers zoned into homophobia, religion and the senseless killing of queers particularly Black lesbians. Following the success of the play, Putuma released a chilling poem titled "Every three hours" to bring to the fore the seriousness of femicide.