Went to McGregor, and heard some soul-baring stanzas
McCallum is a medical doctor and psychiatrist and professor of earth stewardship at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. He is also a fine poet and speaker, as evidenced by his sold-out readings at the festival. He seemed to be the event’s drawcard, its main act.
“There are three kinds of poems,” he says. “The constructive poem, the found poem, and the poems that come from God knows where. The poems that belong in our blood. The poems that remind us that when we feel a pulse we are feeling the pulse of a living museum of the entire history of man.
“Every pulse, every beat is carrying a stream of blood with molecules that go right back to the big bang. It comes from God knows where and it goes to God knows where and this is the poetry that has grabbed me.”
Sally-Ann Murray’s session came with a caution. Adult content. In the synopsis, the word “naked” was used. She arrived clothed. The verses were what exposed her.
“Let us experiment,” she says. “Let us see what language and emotion can do.”
She warned us. She said people are hard to shock these days but that she still found this poem of hers slightly shocking.
Back then she was sick of nursing her hymen like a damaged dove/Broke its neck fast and clean…
Nothing like hearing the word “hymen” spoken aloud in a public place. People gasped.
Murray explained: “Sometimes I want to play with language, I want to let words mean what they mean, but also, I don’t know, tip over into something else where they’re suggesting they are accruing so much more than the denoted meaning, so much more even than the connotated meanings that we think we can explicate.”
American David Messineo set out to perform his poetry on every continent. His visit to McGregor completed the count. His were readings of a different kind, accompanied by actions and accents. The majority of works were about politics and foreign policy, gay rights and the lives of immigrants. There was one about giving a reading in a coffee shop.
If you cannot hear me over the milk steamer/Make your purchase when I’m done… I will limit myself to thirty-six lines/Sit down, and shut up…
There were two open-mic sessions where the brave and presumptuous read their own works. Some of it was good, but it was a reminder of just how damn hard it is to write truly good poetry.
The festival attracted over 700 visitors and 2 350 tickets were sold.
“Long live poetry,” says Kennedy.
The world’s largest audio archive of African poetry is now available via a mobile app. Go to www.badilishapoetry.com, the Badilisha Poetry X-Change features more than 350 poets from 22 African countries, and houses poet profiles, interviews and podcasts in several African languages.