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When I write poetry, my sense of identity comes through the world of imagery. I like to imagine situations and feelings, and I try to connect with them deeply. ...

I shout your name into the dark night A forest of shadows And there is no hyena around to respond Where are you!?

It started with Master KG’s Jerusalema, through which kids and adults, nurses and dancers grasped words, images and sounds of joy, which circulated like a wildfire on social media platforms. They danced to remember that life is joy, to find courage to keep on, to express resilience in a world contaminated by so many fears.

The Pain of Distance by Transpoesis/Andrea Grieder

Orange Poetry NG

You realized later that life was giving you a poetry lesson. Teaching you that just because the first line came out right didn't mean the rest of the poem would. Sometimes the metaphors would refuse to come through. The imagery, no matter how hard you tried to paint it, would just not appear right. You would look everywhere for the perfect punchline to end the poem, but you would not find one. Life was telling you that just because you thought you were good with words did not mean that they would always come to you whenever you needed them. And sometimes, you just couldn’t write a poem, just like you could not write your life into poetry.

Everything Here

Moments. Fleeting. Art captures them, or some part of their essence, in a specific form. Poetry gives us an expression that beautifies this capture through various devices and renditions that, if done well, leave us with something to hold on to.

We are curious to explore these expansive dynamics, and we will do this virtually and in-person in 3 days, from Thursday 14 - Saturday 16 November , 2024, with established and emerging poets  from across the world through Knowledge Diffusion Sessions, Poetry Master-classes, A Village of Languages, Panels/Readings and Feedback Sessions, the traditional Poetry Concert, a Poetry Party (poems apostle should not hear) and a Ride-for-Climate-Change activity with Jeje Riders.

I was a teenager still when I got to know grief personally. I would sit alone in my room reminiscing about the memories we shared & I would write poems that came right from the heart, unlike the rhymes I wrote, which I believe are more of intellect than expression. 

As the year continues to run, the call continues with this month’s theme being “lost and found”. What are those events you have thoughts of constantly? Those emotions, those people, those opportunities? Have you that one poem that speaks to the heart of our theme? Then this call is for you.

for her sleep-sedated lambs who will awake later & demand flowers

Pickled Moments is a debut poetry collection of Nasiba Babale, capturing the essence of love, loss, and the human condition against the backdrop of cultural and political turmoil.