You are invited to the book launch of “Beyond Spice”, an art and poetry publication

Date: 25 May 2016, Time: 18h00 for 18h30

Venue: Skoobs Book Theatre, Shop 74, Monte Casino, Fourways, Joh […]

Trainstorm: An International Anthology of Railway Poems and Drawings

Submissions are invited for consideration by Editor/ Designer Amitabh Mitra. Only work chosen by the Editor will be published and may be […]

When: Friday October 14th and Saturday October 15th 2011

The first Melville Poetry Festival Showcase is happening this Friday and Saturday, with an exciting line up of poets writing in all languages set to read and perform their work.

Over 30 poets will be gathering for the festival, with readings, panel discussions, exhibitions, book launches and music taking place at different venues in 7th Street and 4th Avenue. Poets participating include Angifi Dladla, Keorapetse Kgositsile, Robert Berold, Kobus Moolman, Arja Salafranca, Ike Muila, Uhuru Waga Phalafala, the Botsotso Jesters, Toast Coetzer, Loftus Marais, Charl-Pierre Naudé, Johann Lodewyk Marais and Rene Bohnen.

The festival kicks off on Friday 14th October at 9.30am at the old Koffie Huis in 4th Avenue with the Jozi Spoken Word poetry writing and performance workshop where poets young and old can hone their skills under the guidance of established poets and writing teachers.

On Saturday book launches by Dye Hard Press and Deep South Publishing start the day, before the festival’s official opening at 1.30pm with Ron Smerczak, Yoliswa Mogale, and the Botsotso Jesters. In a creative collaboration entitled ‘Digkyk/Eyepoems’, Naudé, Peter Fincham and Hans Pienaar will mount an exhibition of images integrated with poetry, while a theatre projection called ‘Angels and Stones’ will be narrated by Lionel Murcott.

Panel discussions include a talk on the influence of Wopko Jensma (‘The Ghost of Wopko Jensma’) and one called ‘Into Poetry: How to Get Young People to Enjoy Wordplay’, facilitated by Pamela Nichols from the Wits Writing Centre.

Readings and exhibitions carry on throughout the afternoon, with the day wrapping up with a music festival (Andries Bezuidenhout , Planet Lindela Jazz Trio, Riku Latti & Les Javen, and Lithal Li) which will also be used to showcase up-and-coming slam poets.

“The festival offers a great opportunity to listen and engage with South African poets writing in all languages – and for poets to meet and talk to each other, which doesn’t always happen,” says Alan Finlay, a poet who will also be reading at the event. “I think the panel on Wopko Jensma raises a question about the spirit of South African poetry that’s worth exploring.”

Allan Kolski-Horwitz, a Botsotso Jester who, together with the Wits Writing Centre, has run Jozi Spoken Word for several years, feels that the idea of intimate readings at cafés and shops in Melville is a unique one. “The blending of students and local residents with a wide range of poets should make for a very stimulating exchange,” he says.

“The plan is to hold a national festival next year, and then to grow it from there – and already several sponsors have shown an interest,” explains Eleanor Koning, one of the organizers of the festival. “That’s why we’re calling this festival a ‘showcase’ – we want to build on it in the future, inviting more poets from around the country and even internationally to take part.”

“We also need to develop real public festivals – a festival where everyone is welcome and heard and we can together develop our new multicultural, multi-faceted literature,” adds Nichols. “We hope the workshop on Friday will contribute to developing the new South African poetry and we believe that Melville with its bookshops and coffee shops and restaurants and wandering poets is the perfect place to incubate a new and creative literary culture.”

Books will be on sale at the venues. Come support South African poetry, or just browse around, catching snippets of poems and song, while visiting the local book and coffee shops that line the streets.

Entrance to all readings, panel discussions and the Friday poetry workshop is free. The slam event and music in the evening costs R15 for students and R30 for adults. To see the full programme for the event, visit The Melville Poetry Facebook Page.

For more information:

For more information on the festival, please speak to Eleanor Koning on 082 386 4688 or e-mail her at eleanor(at)melvilla.co.za

To participate in the Jozi Spoken Word poetry workshop, please contact Pamela Nichols at Pamela.Nichols(at)wits.ac.za

So, a loved one left us to go join the ancestors. He was murdered, brutally and with unswerving intent. By the time the medics got to him he was brain dead. It happened in an informal settlement, in a township. By the time medical help got to him he had been bleeding through his nose […]

WALE, the Wits Arts and Literature Experience, begins on the 11th May 2011. The festival showcases not only Wits University’s artistic and literary talent, but also presents works and ideas from greater Johannesburg and farther afield.

This year’s festival is titled “WALE 4.0: Over the Edge”. The lineup includes a full-length work by South African choreographer Athena Mazerakis and Helen Iskander’s visual theatre production, Planet B. The festival features workshops, arts and theatre performances, screenings, exhibitions and seminars and a host of other activities all open to the public:

The Wits Arts & Literature Experience (WALE) kicks off on May 11th 2011 – once again delivering an engaging, accessible arts programme to all Gautengers.

Highlights of WALE 4.0 include the premiere of a new full length work by leading South African choreographer and Wits Artist-in-Residence, Athena Mazerakis as well as the visual theatre production, “Planet B” directed by Helen Iskander. A spectacular opening parade, world-class music and literature, cutting-edge dance and theatre, film screenings, exhibitions, seminars, and workshops are also part of taking WALE 4.0 “Over The Edge” in 2011.

More to follow on the WALE event on this site shortly. In the meantime, please check out the WALE festival website.

Let’s say “hello world”
as we start on this journey
Welcome WritingWorks!

Welcome to WritingWorks, a joint venture between the Wits Writing Centre and MistryWorks. This portal aims to encourage, support and promote writers and poets in South Africa.