‘I am a racist’
‘I wish you would admit it too… so we can finally be set free…’
DURBAN life coach and poet Irene Munthree will perform at Poetry Africa at the KZNSA Gallery this week.
The Musgrave resident and artist had her writings published in the anthologies, Drumbeats from Africa and Best
New Poets of Africa 2018.
She piqued interest after an interview on East Coast Radio in March where she performed and spoke about her poem, I Am Racist.
The 40 year old, who is also an executive committee member of the Nowadays Poetry movement based at the BAT Centre, is known for her unapologetic passion for poetry.
“My dad was a poetry lover and I was exposed to a wonder with words since a child. I never intended on writing poetry or considered myself a poet. But about two years ago, I noticed my daily journalling became poetry. I only performed for the first time about a year ago.”
Asked what attracted her to the art of poetry, she said: “The sheer deliciousness of the words as they roll off the tongue.”
I Am Racist was partly inspired by Munthree’s experience of seeing a black man perform a poem.
She said it made her realise that as a result of being born during apartheid and the influences of that past, she is racist. But this is not to be seen in a negative light. Munthree believes that as South Africans, we need to accept that apartheid is part of our lives, that we are all racist, and need to work through moving past it.
“A lot of my poems challenge the status quo. I am a life coach, so many of my poems are linked to personal transformation and quantum physics, which basically says that when you change the way you look at something, the thing you are looking at changes, hence perspective is everything.”
She continued: “Once we start listening to each other, we may begin to realise we have a lot more in common than we have that’s different, that can be a starting place for social cohesion.
“Poetry affords us a positive outlet for our negative emotions and raises the emotional quotient (EQ), a society with higher EQ makes better decisions. Poets have a question for every answer, especially at Nowadays Poetry. We challenge each to expand our idea of us to include every citizen of Durban.”
Munthree will perform on October 11 from 5pm.
“During my performance, I will answer the eternal question of ‘Who am I?’”
Since leaving her job as an IT specialist in January, Munthree has had her hands full.
“My life coaching practice called High on I keeps me busy. I left my job to pursue my life purpose of being a catalyst for social, exponential transformation. I am involved in various speaking engagements; blending life coaching with poetry, music and song. I am also working on my poetry manuscript and various songs infusing my love for poetry, rap and deep house music.”