e-poets Plain Text: Poetry across frontiers (03)

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Poetry across frontiers (03)

response from Johannesburg, South Africa

Hey Garland,

Thanks for the response. Poetry down here is growing at a snail's pace and it is kind of disjointed. Everyday I discover a new place that has live readings going on. There are a few open mics around and it is becoming relatively popular, but they continue to be an underground thing ... same people, same poets. The main thing is getting people to take time out to actually listen. There was one venue that became a popular hangout for people trying to be cool & this killed the enthusiasm of the poets.

Overall, I believe South Africa is in for positive growth of Spoken Word. I also believe we need greater interaction with poets from outside the country. Quite a few poets are stagnating in terms of quality and content and style... there is not too much experimentation going on and I believe this is the key to us developing beyond our current state.

What is the poetry scene like in your area? One of my plans is to put capital together and travel a bit, getting a feel of what is going on around the world. Still far away, but it does provide inspiration and an objective.

Please, let me know about what is happening that side? Talk to you soon.

Respect,
Kojo Baffoe

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