Southafricanpoetry Stories

Two short poems tracing one woman's crossing of South Africa, west to east. A rainbird's call reaches her indoors while she works, unbidden - a sound she has heard before, decades ago in Pietermaritzburg, Roger beside her. She packs the last box for Durban already knowing her destination, not yet knowing the door has opened ahead of schedule, or that deception waits three days into the east, and hardship not far behind it. Newly arrived at a counter on the other side of the country, a goose and then a crow come to her door in turn - the goose holding a silence as an elder would, the crow reading the frame as though the whole distance she has travelled is already accounted for in its eye. Neither poem settles into comfort or warning alone. Each simply insists that something is being carried across, and that she is being watched while it arrives.

Your entire identity is art. Everything about your body is beauty and Picasso defined. A collection of poems about beauty, body positivity, love and embracing your flaws.

[Poetry Winner The Shortys 2024] Whispers of the Karoo is an acrostic poem that spells out its title vertically. It paints a vivid picture of South Africa's Karoo region, depicting its vast, arid landscape and the mysterious sounds that emanate from it. The poem weaves together themes of ancient history, hidden secrets, and the surprising vibrancy of a seemingly desolate place. It captures cultural references such as to the gumba-gumba sound and the idea of a landscape that is anything but silent.

Round 2 Qualifier The Ambys 2025 | The Melody of Memory: Poems Between Art and Nature What happens when memory becomes the bridge between artistic creation and the natural world? The Melody of Memory: Poems Between Art and Nature is a complete 30-poem collection born from National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), where each piece responds to prompts weaving together art and nature themes. This is a journey through the connections between what we create and the natural world that moves us. The Collection The opening poem, "Undomesticated Forms," introduces "biomorph"-organic, life-suggesting shapes in abstract art. Drawing from the CoBrA movement's resistance to capitalist art production, these poems explore how memory guides us through spaces where art meets nature. From the Getty Museum's Florentine Codex to the rhythms of rain and wind, the poems traverse where human artistry meets natural wonder. They remember. They celebrate. They connect. Thirty poems exploring: - Fluid boundaries between artistic expression and natural phenomena - Memory as connective tissue linking creativity to organic inspiration - Rhythm and melody in both art forms and natural cycles. A voice that: - Weaves thoughtful curiosity with organic, sensory experience - Employs contemplative first-person narration with measured free verse - Discovers unexpected melodies in cultural artefacts and natural phenomena. From "Whispers to Chronos" to "Melodies of Melancholy," each poem traces the melody of memory connecting artistic creation to natural wonder. The Melody of Memory takes these daily prompts and turns them into something deeper - a month-long conversation about how art and nature speak to each other, and how both become part of the stories we carry with us. Prompts by: NaPoWriMo.net