This year’s Poetry Africa Festival will be held October 3rd-12th, with events taking place in Johannesburg, Durban, and also online.

This year’s theme is Poetry: Somehow we survive, drawing inspiration from a poem by Denis Brutus, a leading South African poet, activist, educator and journalist. This year marks the centenary of his birth and the theme is “intended to inspire poets to write as a response to how the human spirit survives and is resilient to the constantly changing political, social and technological changes that impacts on our lives.”

The festival includes a wide range events, starting with the 3rd Annual Keorapetse Kgositsile Memorial Lecture, honoring poet Keorapetse Kgositsile. He had a great impact on the literary world through his poems and essays of Pan-African liberation. Presented by Dr. Uhuru Phalafala, this lecture includes reflections and discussions on Kgositsile’s influence.

Some of the other events include masterclasses on the arts, branding, marketing, and more, which are great resources for poets who want to get their work out there. On top of that, there are more events like open mics and readings throughout the festival events. The Slam Jam Finale doubles as the closing ceremony for the festival. The top five slam finalists from the weeklong slam poetry events will compete for a chance to represent South Africa at the World Championship.

Poetry Africa is an annual international poetry festival curated and presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in Durban each year during October. The Poetry Africa International Festival serves as a crucial platform for celebrating and critically examining the role of poets in driving social change, both domestically and globally. At the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the festival supports academic research in contemporary poetry. Moreover, Poetry Africa is a significant contributor to the cultural economy of the Ethekwini region and plays a pivotal role in solidifying Durban’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature.

To get a full list of the events being held, go to their website or Instagram.

We can’t wait to hear about how the festival goes!