Koleka Putuma
(South Africa, 1993) is a poet, performer and theatre artist. She stormed onto the South African literary scene with her debut collection Collective Amnesia (2017), which became an immediate bestseller. Putuma is seen as an important young voice in South African poetry. She belongs to a generation without memories of apartheid, but which still deals with its consequences and repercussions on a daily basis. As a result, her work probes themes such as race, homophobia, womxnhood, and the workings of power structures in relationships, religion and politics. Her poetry is daring and inventive, not only in structure and language but also in form - sometimes it consists of only one line. She is the founder and director of Manyano Media, an organization that produces and promotes the work and stories of queer black artists and queer life.
(WN 2021)Share this page
Archive available for: Koleka Putuma
-
Radical Happiness - #SoulCare
With: Bahghi, Gil Gomes Leal, Hassnae Bouazza, Jens Meijen, Koleka Putuma, Munganyende Hélène Christelle, Radna Fabias
"Joy is an act of resistance" is a slogan that is gaining traction. Can happiness be a form of activism? Is there such a thing as restful resistance? And why is self-care so important? These questions constituted the foundation of the final program of the online part of the Winternachten International Literature Festival 2021 - you end up in a warm bath of radical inspiration.
1:04 - Koleka Putuma (South Africa), recitation.
3:13 - Radna Fabias (Netherlands), recitation I translated work by Koleka Putuma.
5:00 - Koleka Putuma, interview.
23:38 - Koleka Putuma, recitation.
24:48 - Radna Fabias, recitation II translated work by Koleka Putuma.
26:15 - Gil Gomes Leal, dance performance.
31:40 - Radna Fabias, interview.
42:31 - Bahghi (Netherlands), song performance.
45:42 - Munganyende Hélène Christelle (Netherlands), recitation and interview.
56:10 - Jens Meijen (Belgium), video reading.
1:01:19 - Radna Fabias, recitation III translated work by Koleka Putuma."It's up to us": this emerges from the work of photographer Tyler Mitchell, whose summer 2019 exhibit I Can Make You Feel Good at the FOAM Photography Museum in Amsterdam was a sensitive ode to a "black utopia". Mitchell photographed young black people looking relaxed, sensitive and proud in idyllic settings. It was a beacon of hope for how things could look and a sharp contrast to the dominant images of black people in the media usually associated with strife, pain and violence.
Mitchell's work is one of the sources of inspiration for programme maker Fleur Jeras, together with the poetry of the South African poet and performer Koleka Putuma - especially her poem Black Joy from the volume Collective Amnesia. Poet Alfred Schaffer, who translated Putuma's poetry into Dutch for the magazine Terras, wrote the following in the magazine Groene Amsterdammer: "You could say that Putuma in looking for a way out of the impasse with Collective Amnesia; she must escape the expectations of both the white and black public. Love could be an escape route."
A fragment of the poem Black Joy by Koleka Putuma, from her collection Collective Amnesia:
But
isn't funny?
That when they ask about black childhood,
all they are interested in is our pain,
as if the joy-parts were accidental.I write love poems, too,
but
you only want to see my mouth torn open in protest,
as if my mouth were a wound
with pus and gangrene
for joy.Journalist Hassnae Bouazza talked about this poem with Putuma via an online connection from Capetown. We also brought you Putuma's work in other forms: poet Radna Fabias read from Putuma's work in their Dutch-language versions and singer-songwriter Bahghi and dancer Gil Gomes Leal presented new works inspired by Black Joy.
Read here the three poems by Koleka Putuma.
Additionally, poet Jens Meijen and writer-podcast maker Munganyende Hélène Christelle gave practical examples about how the create peace of mind and reflect on activism, a state of happiness and the future.
Learn more here:
Bahghi
website
SoundcloudHassnae Bouazza
websiteMunganyende Hélène Christelle
website
Instagram
Podcast Fufu & DadelsRadna Fabias
Video: Radna Fabia recites in DichterBij (VPRO) her poem RoestplaatsGil Gomes Leal
website: performance Ayahuasca by Gil Gomes Leal & ISH Dance CollectiveJens Meijen
Facebook
Short story Kaddisj, publication in Hard//hoofd
Koleka Putuma
website
instagram
Video: Koleka Putuma recites from Collective Amnesia on the train from Kaapstad-Muizenburg -
#SoulCare: Radical Happiness
With: Bahghi, Gil Gomes Leal, Hassnae Bouazza, Jens Meijen, Koleka Putuma, Munganyende Hélène Christelle, Radna Fabias
"Joy is an act of resistance" is a slogan that is gaining traction. Can happiness be a form of activism? Is there such a thing as restful resistance? And why is self-care so important? These questions constituted the foundation of this concluding program of the first, online part of the Winternachten International Literature Festival 2021 - a warm bath of radical inspiration.
"It's up to us": this theme emerges from the work of photographer Tyler Mitchell, whose summer 2019 exhibit I Can Make You Feel Good at Amsterdam's FOAM photography museum was a sensitive ode to a "black utopia". Mitchell photographed young black people looking relaxed, sensitive and proud in idyllic settings. It was a beacon of hope for how things could look and a sharp contrast to dominant media images of black people that are usually associated with strife, pain and violence.
Mitchell's work was one source of inspiration for programmer Fleur Jeras, as was the poetry of the South African poet and performer Koleka Putuma - especially her poem Black Joy from the volume Collective Amnesia. Poet Alfred Schaffer, who translated Putuma's poetry into Dutch for Terras magazine, wrote the following in the magazine Groene Amsterdammer: "You could say that Putuma in looking for a way out of the impasse with Collective Amnesia; she must escape the expectations of both the white and black public. Love could be an escape route."
A fragment of the poem Black Joy by Koleka Putuma, from her collection Collective Amnesia:
But
isn't funny?
That when they ask about black childhood,
all they are interested in is our pain,
as if the joy-parts were accidental.I write love poems, too,
but
you only want to see my mouth torn open in protest,
as if my mouth were a wound
with pus and gangrene
for joy.Journalist Hassnae Bouazza discussed this poem with Putuma via a video connection from Capetown. We also brought you Putuma's work in other forms: poet Radna Fabias read Dutch translations of Putuma's work, while singer-songwriter Bahghi and dancer Gil Gomes Leal presented new works inspired by Black Joy.
Read three poems by Koleka Putuma here.
In addition, poet Jens Meijen and writer-podcaster Munganyende Hélène Christelle gave practical examples about how to create peace of mind and reflected on activism, a state of happiness, and the future.
More background:
Bahghi
website
SoundcloudHassnae Bouazza
websiteMunganyende Hélène Christelle
website
Instagram
Podcast Fufu & DadelsRadna Fabias
Video: Radna Fabia recites her poem Roestplaats on DichterBij (VPRO)Gil Gomes Leal
website: Ayahuasca performance by Gil Gomes Leal & ISH Dance CollectiveJens Meijen
Facebook
Short story Kaddisj, published in Hard//hoofd
Koleka Putuma
website
instagram
Video: Koleka Putuma reads from Collective Amnesia on the Capetown-Muizenburg train