Events
Poetry reading by Gabeba Baderoon
Gabeba Baderoon is an award-winning South African poet and
scholar. She is the author of two collections of poetry, The
Dream in the Next Body (Kwela/ Snailpress, 2005) and The
Museum of Ordinary Life (DCAG, 2005). Her third collection
is due from Kwela/Snailpress in March 2006. Her work also
appears in the anthology Ten Hallam Poets (Mews Press,
2005). Baderoon’s poetry deals with place, with war, with ‘the
subtle map of the bed’. Her poetry has been celebrated for its
‘original voice’ and for crafting ‘a new direction in South
African poetry’. Baderoon is also a scholar. She received her
PhD from the University of Cape Town and has published widely on
representations of Islam in art, literature and the media.
Gabeba Baderoon is the recipient of the DaimlerChrysler Award
for South African Poetry 2005.
Gabeba Baderoon was introduced by Dr Desiree Lewis, the South
African feminist scholar.
Words from under the tongue: a reading memorial for Yvonne
Vera
In April 2005, Yvonne Vera – one of Africa's most startling
and original literary voices of all time – died in Toronto of
AIDS-related meningitis. The most consistently productive among
Zimbabwean authors in English, Vera had won national and
international prizes, and her work has been translated into
several languages. She was the author of a collection of short
stories (Why Don't You Carve Other Animals, 1992) and
five novels: Nehanda (1993), Without a Name
(1994), Under the Tongue (1996), Butterfly Burning
(1998) and The Stone Virgins (2002).
There is a sense in which all of Vera's words came from
'under the tongue': they carve new languages for previously
unspoken meanings, to do with the excess of violence and
violation in contemporary African worlds. But they are also,
simultaneously, intensely lyrical and moving, and capture
moments of exquisite fragility and beauty. In this memorial
event, those who were, in different ways, close to Vera and her
writing, will pay their respects by reading favourite passages
from her work. A programme will be available on the day; those
expected to take part include Elleke Boehmer, Brian Chikwava,
Ranka Primorac, Terence Ranger and Irene Staunton.
Hearing voices. Sound portraits from the Kalahari.
A project by John Wynne. 28 June - 23 September 2005
This gallery installation by sound artist John Wynne
innovatively combines photography and sound to address issues of
portraiture, identity and technology in a cross-cultural
context. See
www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/hearingvoices/home.html
Other events
The AEGIS conference took place in the context of many other
Africa-focused events in London forming part of the Africa 2005
programme. Like its predecessor, africa95, this is a large scale
festival of African arts and performance taking place in
numerous London venues, including the British Museum, Hayward
Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery and Africa. Check
www.bbc.co.uk/bbcafrica/africa05 for more info. |