A new home for performance poetry beckons in Melville
Poetry Tuesdays which has the potential to bring back the culture of live poetry in Johannesburg launches on February 21, 2023, and R130 entry fee gets you a light meal, a drink and enjoying poetry performances at Spilt Milk Social Café in the heart of the cultural melting pot of Melville.
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
When books publicist Janine Daniel posted message on Facebook in 2022 that she was to be a proud owner of a coffee shop as an answer to Melville’s tight-knit -coffee society’s craving for a space where they can enjoy coffee as they work in the now increasing gig economy after the pandemic, she got a lot of support on line.
And when she also indicated that it was going to be a space that was going to be a venue for book launches and other similar events of a cerebral nature, it became clear that this space was going to be a breath of fresh air in a Joburg social’s environment which sometimes tends to neglect that part of a once vibrant literary scene in favour of fine dining, clubbing and even weekend markets.
Today, not only has Spilt Milk Social Café hosted a number of book launches since Janine and her family acquired the space, but this time around, it is adding poetry performances every two weeks, starting on February 21, 2023. Clearly this is something that the literati will look forward to.
I mean when last did you attend a poetry performance, a genre that in the 2000s competed well with other performance genres such as music and theatre.
Many will remember poetry focused events such the Mail &Guardian’s Literary Festival that used to take place at Market Theatre and off course poetry feminist inclined collectives such as Feel A Sistah, which featured poets Lebo Mashile, the late Myesha Jenkins, Ntsiki Mazwai, and Napo Masheane. Whatever you think about their kind of poetry, but one thing you cannot deny these sisters is the fact that they popularised and even revolutionised performance poetry in the country at that time.
And when the group prematurely spilt, a void in performance poetry was created and it is yet to be filled. The group and other young poets of the time such as Natalia Molebatsi, MaaK Manaka, Flo and Afurakan to name but just a few made watching live poetry performances sexy around Johannesburg’s social scene.
Joburg needs that vibe back as not only will it inject some intellectual rigour into our amapiano dominated club scene, but will give young people a new way of expressing themselves, their hopes, inspiration and even their despondence with their lives during these hard times. That way young talent will find a creative and positive outlet for their feelings. This is much better than the alternative, which is ghastly even to contemplate. The vibe of the 2000s among that generation of the youth was constructive, intentionally ambitious and positive. Bring it back.
Unfortunately for some inexplicable reasons, in the past 15 years or so, that culture seems to have disappeared from the social scene n Johannesburg, leaving a whole chunk of a performance poetry audience without a venue that hosted poetry performances on a regular. Yes, I am aware of a few poetry festivals that take place sporadically around the country, and of course the leading poetry festival on the continent, Poetry Africa, which is hosted annually by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of Johannesburg. All these poetry platforms are doing a commendable job in giving space to poets to perform their material and even try new material for audience response. But more is needed.
This is where venues such as Spilt Milk Social Café in the heart of throbbing Melville are important spaces for poetry development and giving an opportunity for poets to perform and sell their books.
“Spilt Milk Social Café is an iconic coffee shop based in vibey Melville. Spilt Milk celebrates all South African artists; singers, painters, writers and poets. It is launching a series of Poetry Tuesday’s in order to celebrate poets and poetry. Poets are invited to perform their work. The inaugural event will be held on Tuesday, 21 February at 6pm. Janine told CITYLIFE/ARTS this week.
Fortunately Spilt Milk Social Café is beckoning for poets and those who love this beautiful art form.
.Poetry Tuesdays launches on February 21, 6pm, 2023, at Spilt Milk Social Café, CNR 1st Avenue & 7th Street, Melville. For bookings and more information WhatsApp Janine on 081 079 5436.