My last City Press Online article

More than just a poetry workshop

By Nungo Ravele

As 32 pupils of Willow Crescent Secondary School patiently wait for the workshop to begin, there is a level of anxiety arising. A slender, light-in-complexion woman with a huge afro walks in. Behind her is a woman dressed in black with a dark green scarf draped around her neck. Silence settled in the classroom. 64 eyes looked up at these two woman in front of the black board.

Staceyann Chin and Abena Koomson are artists who are a part of the Urban Voices International Arts Festival. Staceyann is a Jamaican/Asian lesbian activist and full time writer. She first performed for Urban Voices in 2003. Abena was born in America and as an infant went to Ghana to get acquainted with family. She is a writer, performer, and has been a teacher of literature for 13 years. These two amazing artists conducted “Poetry Talks”, at the Eldorado Park school, which is part of the Urban Voices programme.

The pupils were instructed to free-write for five minutes on whatever thoughts were racing in their minds. Abena explained that free-writing is a good way to get to know yourself. When the five minutes came to an end, Abena asked how they felt about the free-writing experience. Some pupils seemed to be relieved and others disappointed that the time had gone by so fast.

Abena then had a brainstorming session titled “What is poetry?”
“Poetry is the freedom of expression through writing,” responded one of the pupils.

Staceyann and Abena then broke the pupils up into six groups. Each group had to write a poem which needed to contain two of the following words: woman, power, South Africa, colour blind and my own history. Whispers and giggles could be heard within the groups while they were sharing ideas and putting the poem together.

Staceyann blindly picked out groups to present their piece and asked the rest of the class to crit them. The poetry that was presented left the two artists flabbergasted. “I just want to take you all home with me to New York. Wow!” exclaimed Staceyann.

Abena opened the floor for questions. Questions like “Is there a career in poetry?” were asked.

One pupil requested them recite one of their own poems. Abena recited her poem titled Blacksmith Orchestra, a poem inspired by Romans 12:9-16. Staceyann couldn't find a poem appropriate enough for the pupils, explaining that they contained adult content. Instead, she read a page from her book The Other Side of Paradise.

The pupils had long lost the feeling of anxiety and replaced it with joy and confidence. With eyes glimmering and sighs filled with sadness, they said their thank-yous and left the classroom. They only left content smiles on Abena and Staceyann's faces.