I have a routine to prepare for change
This is a short autobiographical poem that I recently wrote as part of our storytelling process for my upcoming play Courage Songs. I have a routine to prepare for change. I turn on all the lamps in
This is a short autobiographical poem that I recently wrote as part of our storytelling process for my upcoming play Courage Songs.
I have a routine to prepare for change.
I turn on all the lamps in the house, put on some music, sit myself on the rug, in front of a window.
Take a duvet and leave it close by, for comfort.
I usually have a film on in the background that I know, and love – something a bit trashy, blooming with positivity, a romance too.
But I never really watch it. I sit there preparing for the storm.
It is like hearing the rain pummel down on a tin ceiling and knowing that you have to eventually walk out into it.
I was in Berlin, and it was 2013.
I have a routine to prepare for change.
I sit by my dog, wishing that I could tell him what was ahead. ‘You are going to be in a small box for 22 hours and then you’ll see me again. You are going to be looked after by a friend for five months while I find a flight for you’.
I didn’t know what was ahead, not really.
I was in Birmingham, and it was 2020.
I have a routine to prepare for change.
I pack up all of my photographs, taking them out of their frames and placing them in an envelope, for new frames.
When I unpack them, I was in Perth, it was 2022.
I had to give my books to charity.
I try not to own books now.
I have a routine for dealing with change.
I have a routine to prepare for change
This is a short autobiographical poem that I recently wrote as part of our storytelling process for my upcoming play Courage Songs. I have a routine to prepare for change. I turn on all the lamps in the house, put on some music, sit myself on the rug, in front […]
Migration and my songs of courage
For the past two years I have been slowly developing a new play that is inspired by the female-led migration story and told through a memoir of songs. Courage Songs has plagued all aspects of my daily life – from research, teaching, family and home. I initially wrote about it […]
Breathing through the feet premieres at National Arts Festival
Today, our short film Breathing through the feet premieres at the National Arts Festival Makhanda, South Africa. Breathing through the feet is a call and response film directed by Sibusiso Mkhize and featuring autobiographical poetry and improvised responses in the body by actors Nomvuyo Buthelezi, Moeketsi Kgotle and Nonhlanhla Precious […]
Capturing courage
Since autumn, I have been quietly turning to an artistic practice that firmly situates my identity and value as an insider to the work. A yearning to locate my cultural stories and find the tools and languages to articulate them has been simmering for aeons. As a traveller across South […]