The 12 international poets appearing at the Spier Poetry Festival are no strangers to exile and dislocation, notes Brent Meersman.
Twelve international poets have arrived for the Spier Poetry Festival. Although widely applauded and heavily accoladed, most will be new to South African readers. Translations of their works are still hard to come by, despite the digital age.
Curator of the poetry festival, Breyten Breytenbach, has selected a mix of eminent global voices, several of whom are activists in culture, ecology or politics, and whose lives have often involved exile and dislocation.
The line-up includes Homero Aridjis, the Mexican poet, novelist, environmental activist and diplomat; Chinese writer Duo Duo, one of the celebrated Misty poets; the young Russian-American star Ilya Kaminsky and Nimrod from Chad.
Also appearing at the festival is the rising star, Ilya Kaminsky. He was born in Odessa in the former Soviet Union in 1977.
WHEN & WHERE: The Spier Poetry Festival runs from May 9 to 10. For more information phone (021) 809 1100 or visit Spier website
For full article: Mail & Guardian
