Love is no longer shy smiles exchanged with bowed heads, or letters shared with each other in secret, with younger siblings acting as couriers. A woman’s love is no longer affirmed by her silence when asked by her elders if she loves a man, or how she avoids roads leading to her beloved’s house out of shyness, or how she runs away giggling when his name is mentioned. Love is not date nights on mats once a week, sitting on either edge with a lamp in between. Love is simply no longer silence and a smile.
Ketty Nivyabandi, born in 1978, is a Burundian poet and human rights activist.
In her poetry, the depth of human feeling is evoked through imagery that is as gripping as it is urgent.
Dennis Brutus (1924–2009) was a South African poet, educator, and anti-apartheid activist, renowned for his passionate resistance to racial injustice and his captivating poetry. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and raised in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Brutus was fueled by the circumstances surrounding his nativity and became a leading voice in the fight against apartheid during his time. His activism led to his arrest and imprisonment on Robben Island, where he was held alongside Nelson Mandela.
The Black Poets series, a weekly feature on Konya Shamsrumi's website, introduces poets of African origin to new audiences through original biographies and samples of their work. Usani follows in the footsteps of previous curators Richard Ali, author of "The Anguish and Vigilance of Things" (2019), and Star Zahra, known for "Dance of Dawn" (2018).
I remember always turning back in the car when we pass a particular sculpture and I remember the sculpture, "a woman with long breasts breastfeeding a child". That sculpture was intriguing to me as a child
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.
Tigray Coffee x Rovingheights is delighted to announce our partnership with Orange Poetry LTD to host the first Orange Poetry Live Show.
