Poetry session in Melville attracts young poetry tribe bursting with creativity and energy
Spilt Milk Social Café in Melville is increasingly becoming a safe space for poetry reading and experimentation by both experienced poets and emerging poets of Johannesburg.
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
The young poets gathered at Spilt Milk Social Cafes, having come as as groups, some as a duo, even one accompanied a cellist. Their energy and creativity exploded on stage, and embraced as all as we sat listened, watched and appreciated the amount and level of creativity among the youth in this country. Especially when they are given a safe space to experiment and even make mistakes without being mocked, discouraged and laughed at as they express their wishes, their worries and even their aspirations in front of an audience that is patient, understanding and willing to give them that opportunity.
And yes, during such sessions, there are those who make the mistake usually made by amateur poets, who after getting inspiration from poets on stage, stand up and volunteer to recite, read and perform their poetry. That is the way it should be.
But then before they do so, they make the cardinal crime in poetry of making an unnecessary and stupid confession: that they have just composed the lines ä “few seconds ago. Well a few minutes ago.” Believe me you, one did just that on Tuesday, during the Poetry Tuesday session which has been going on for months now, once every month.
Nobody laughed of course, but one could feel a brief sense of embarrassment in the audience. Even cringing within the room, especially among those that take their poetry seriously. Poetry is not an easy thing to create. It takes a lot of reading of other poets, thinking and even getting advice from experienced poets before one pens a poem.
Especially if one wants to create a poem that will make an impact, and often poetry, the very good type, aims at achieving that. But there was however understanding. There was not even a single murmur of protest among the gathered tribe as they gave the lady the opportunity to read her “few seconds poem”.
They listened without complaining, and at the end, the lines became exactly that –a few seconds lines, that in reality probably meant something to the poet, as poetry always means something to the creator, at least it should.
But perhaps none to those listening, who probably must have regarded what the young lady read as a wine inspired short speech, scattered all over the place. However this is the beauty of this space in Melville that now promotes poetry, and allows both young, raw talent an experienced wordsmith to come together in a safe and intimate space to express themselves.
Without fear. Without favour. Even poetry composed in seconds. Yes. Co-owned by books publicist Janine Hudson with her husband, the addition to poetry at the space in many way has added an important cultural space in Melville.
It is a space very much needed, especially because several spaces in Johannesburg, and certainly in other parts of the country, have over the years faded poetry out of their programming. This is often in favour of music. These days understandably Amapiano taking centre stage. At Poetry Tuesday however, poetry takes centre stage, encouragingly the written kind, even though spoken word is also okay. But the emphasis is on the text, and poets are encouraged to bring their books to sale during the sessions, in many ways creating market access to poetry, a genre that struggles to find space in mainstream bookshops.
This is as bookstores prefer stoking other genres other than poetry on their shelves. Poetry, yes is hard to sell, but deeply rewarding, especially to the creator as through poetry they are able to express their inner feelings. Sharing in some cases, burdens of different kinds carried by their minds, –abuse, neglect, sexism, harmful patriarchal practices, racism, xenophobia and homophobia. But it is also through poetry that some can express love and even its disappointment.
All these themes were well represented by the poems that were read and performed on Tuesday by the young poetry tribe. It was really a wonderful experience to share the space with these young poets and get to know their inner thoughts, views and of course worries and aspirations through fine text and performance. But good poetry that comes from inner self, scattering the pains gathered within oneself, sharing such pains with a reader, can also be helpful to a reader undergoing the same afflictions, and therefore poetry has the ability to heal the scarred.
That is why poetry is serious business that needs thinking and lots of reading before one goes on stage or put pen to paper, so to speak. You simply will not know who you will touch, and possibly heal them. But someone out there in society, especially a troubled society like South Africa afflicted with so much trauma –Gender based violence, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and corruption needs to read those lines. Possibly thereafter see the world around them differently.
It is a society that is certainly ripe ground for healing poetry. The young poets who read and performed their lines on Tuesday, certainly took out some troubling burdens within themselves, and one could sense that some of the lines read and performed resonated with the audience. Indeed sharing is caring as they say. Watch out for the next call for poets to perform as you might be the one that the audience and poetry loving people have been waiting for.
.The poets who were featured on Tuesday July 25, 2023 are Zama Madinana, Deity Ajna, Peloentle, Explosive, Tshepo Molefe and Dr Poet, after which there was an Open Mike segment. Spilt Milk Social Café is at Shp 1, 7th Street, Melville. Tel. 0810795436. Email: bookings@spiltmilksocial.cafe
Saturday: from 9am to 1pm.