Contents
IGOLI
On love (xxxiii) 13 Dorothy Masuku in Sophiatown 2018 14 Re-Map 16 On love (xxxiv) 18 56 Chapman Street 19 Yesterday Today Tomorrow 20 Marlboro Winter 21 Diepsloot Winter (pre-loadshedding) 22 Only in Jozi 23 Dispossession 24 Ontvangs B Helen Joseph Hospital 25 Mammogram Waiting Room Roodepoort 26 Pholosong Emergency 27 1st Road 28 Inclines 29 Counterclock Clock 30 airbnb Meldene 32 Meldene to Melville, COVID-19 late third wave 33 Excess death or, Acer rubrum 34 Westdene Winter or, Masculinity 35 Shrieking yellow 36 Fleurhof 37 Intraction Extraction 38 On love (xxxv) 40 Moon Garden 41 On love (xxxvi) 42 Garnets or, On love (xxxvii) 43 Spirit 44 Lower 4th Westdene or, On love (xxxviii) 45 On love (xxxix) 46 Natalia Molebatsi and Bab’Themba Mokoena in dance 47 Maps 48 inimba 49 On love (xl) 50 On love (xli) 51 Footsteps 52 inimba (ii) 53 On love (xlii) 54 iSothamilo or, On love (xliii) 55 big little forest 56 On love (xliv) 57
EGoli
or, Only in Jozi (ii) or, On love (xlv) 62 Origins 63 metsi/amanzi/emanti/mvura/madzi/ruwa/water/ /l’eau/ 65 Down Main Street Melville or, Umsebenzi 66 Umsebenzi (ii) 67 Footsteps (ii) 68 Where will we go? 69 RosesRunways 70 On love (xlvi) or, Umsebenzi (iii) 71 72 Wealth 74 Recipe or, Wealth (ii) 75 On love (xlvii) 76 sodade (iii) or, Joy of Jazz Sandton 2017 77 Mushrooms in Mint or, On love (xlviii) 78 Footsteps (iii) 80 Distances 81 Only in Jozi (iii) 82 Greenhill Grocer or, On love (xlix) 83 Only in Jozi (iv) or, On love (l) 84 Fidel Castro at Lillisleaf Farm 2017 or, On love (li) 87 After the launch of Cradles or, 2018 or, On love (lii) 90 sodade (iv) EGoli or, On love (liii) On love (liv)
A new collection of poems by Salimah Valiani. IGoli EGoli is a sociopolitical reading of Johannesburg drawing on its famous, and not so famed, people, places, plants & pronouncements.
First published by [email protected]
USD $ 14.00
Salimah Valiani is a poet, activist and researcher. Her 2021 poetry collection, 29 leads to love, is the 2022 Winner of The International Book Award for Contemporary Poetry. She is also the author of four other poetry collections: breathing for…
Contents
IGOLI
On love (xxxiii) 13 Dorothy Masuku in Sophiatown 2018 14 Re-Map 16 On love (xxxiv) 18 56 Chapman Street 19 Yesterday Today Tomorrow 20 Marlboro Winter 21 Diepsloot Winter (pre-loadshedding) 22 Only in Jozi 23 Dispossession 24 Ontvangs B Helen Joseph Hospital 25 Mammogram Waiting Room Roodepoort 26 Pholosong Emergency 27 1st Road 28 Inclines 29 Counterclock Clock 30 airbnb Meldene 32 Meldene to Melville, COVID-19 late third wave 33 Excess death or, Acer rubrum 34 Westdene Winter or, Masculinity 35 Shrieking yellow 36 Fleurhof 37 Intraction Extraction 38 On love (xxxv) 40 Moon Garden 41 On love (xxxvi) 42 Garnets or, On love (xxxvii) 43 Spirit 44 Lower 4th Westdene or, On love (xxxviii) 45 On love (xxxix) 46 Natalia Molebatsi and Bab’Themba Mokoena in dance 47 Maps 48 inimba 49 On love (xl) 50 On love (xli) 51 Footsteps 52 inimba (ii) 53 On love (xlii) 54 iSothamilo or, On love (xliii) 55 big little forest 56 On love (xliv) 57
EGoli
or, Only in Jozi (ii) or, On love (xlv) 62 Origins 63 metsi/amanzi/emanti/mvura/madzi/ruwa/water/ /l’eau/ 65 Down Main Street Melville or, Umsebenzi 66 Umsebenzi (ii) 67 Footsteps (ii) 68 Where will we go? 69 RosesRunways 70 On love (xlvi) or, Umsebenzi (iii) 71 72 Wealth 74 Recipe or, Wealth (ii) 75 On love (xlvii) 76 sodade (iii) or, Joy of Jazz Sandton 2017 77 Mushrooms in Mint or, On love (xlviii) 78 Footsteps (iii) 80 Distances 81 Only in Jozi (iii) 82 Greenhill Grocer or, On love (xlix) 83 Only in Jozi (iv) or, On love (l) 84 Fidel Castro at Lillisleaf Farm 2017 or, On love (li) 87 After the launch of Cradles or, 2018 or, On love (lii) 90 sodade (iv) EGoli or, On love (liii) On love (liv)
A new collection of poems by Salimah Valiani. IGoli EGoli is a sociopolitical reading of Johannesburg drawing on its famous, and not so famed, people, places, plants & pronouncements.
First published by [email protected]
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Cradles is a collection poems on the nature(s) and nurturing that cradle us. They are divided into four parts: Womb is the first cradle, both ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’, under-acknowledged and often unmentioned. Beyond the physical womb of individuals, there are collective wombs that incubate on yet grander and greater scales. Land(s) are the cradles we typically identify as our ‘origins’, but as the Cradle of Humankind teaches, the many lands of today are interlaced in many concealed ways and originated in a single, little understood place. Tides are the many migrations and cycles of time that shape us. They can shift, upset and remake the nurturing of cradles; but also cradle us in cycles of wreckage. Wind sets us free of places and times of origin. This detachment can bring freedom, a sense of loss/lostness, and the many things in between. The freedom/loss/lostness spiral whirls with the wind and transforms. In surrendering to it we can alter its pace to our needs and desires.
Renowned aphorist Yahia Lababidi’s Palestine Wail writes alongside a catastrophe beyond words, trying to shelter in words what remains of our humanity. To be a Minister of Loneliness and Lightkeeper, tending to the light. — Philip Metres, author of Fugitive/Refuge
Palestine is personal for writer, Yahia Lababidi. His Palestinian grandmother, Rabiha Dajani — educator, activist & social worker — was forced to flee her ancestral home in Jerusalem, at gunpoint, some eighty years ago.
As an Arab-American, Lababidi feels deeply betrayed by the USA’s blind support of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.
In Palestine Wail, he reminds us that religion is not politics, Judaism is not Zionism, and to criticize the immoral, illegal actions of Israel is not antisemitism — especially since, as an Arab, Lababidi is a Semite, himself.
Using both poetry and prose, Lababidi reflects on how we are neither our corrupt governments, nor our compromised media. Rather, we are partners in humanity, members of one human family. Not in Our Name will the unholy massacres of innocent Palestinians be committed (two-thirds of whom are women and children) nor in the false name of ‘self-defense’.
In turn, Lababidi reminds us that starvation as a weapon of war is both cruel and criminal, as is collective punishment.
Palestine Wail invites us to bear witness to this historical humanitarian crisis, unfolding in real-time, while not allowing ourselves to be deceived, intimidated or silenced. We are made aware of the basic human truths that no lasting peace can be founded upon profound injustice and that the jailor is never Free…
Yahia Lababidi, an Arab-American writer of Palestinian background, has crafted a poignant collection which serves as a heartfelt tribute to the Palestinian people, their struggles, and their resilience in the face of an ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing.
The collection, described as a love letter to Gaza, draws inspiration from the rich literary tradition of Palestinian resistance literature. Lababidi, known for his critically-acclaimed books of aphorisms, essays, and poetry, brings his unique voice to this personal, political and spiritual work.
Palestine Wail addresses us in a variety of voices: outrage, lamentation and pity, in attempting to honor the pain of the oppressed Palestinian people, while also celebrating their enduring spirit.
Lababidi’s Wail, ultimately, is a prayerful work seeking peace, healing and reconciliation—a testament to the transformative power of literature to keep hope alive in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
These are necessary and truthful poems. Yahia Lababidi powerfully illuminates this heartbreaking time and terrible season in the history of our world. This book, like a lantern in darkness, brings to light the truth of lives we must learn to honor and remember. — James Crews, author of Unlocking the Heart: Writing for Mindfulness, Creativity, and Self-Compassion
Yahia Lababidi’s stunning and resonant collection, Palestine Wail, addresses the outrage felt by many of the oppressed Palestinian supporters and more. He also speaks of the lamentations of his people and the show of pity, compassion, and empathy from many members of the human family from all around the world. — The Indefatigable Longing For Peace And Rapprochement In Yahia Lababidi’s Palestine Wail By Michael Parker.
The poems here were written during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most were circulated through What’s App voice notes, an intimate way of keeping distance while reaching out to touch. The poems speak to experiences and occurrences during the first wave in different parts of the world and the pressing need to make love as global and infectious as the novel corona virus. This collection is a prelude to “29 leads to love”, a collection that explores more fully the grand notion of love which began coming to the fore in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has largely re-submerged.
Weaving Our Stories is a Hawaii-rooted abolitionist program that utilizes storytelling as a vehicle for liberation. Our mission revolves around teaching storytelling as an act of resistance, dismantling harmful existing narratives, and nurturing our ability to weave counter-narratives that acknowledge and celebrate the inherent beauty and brilliance within our storytellers. Through our stories, we advocate for justice and liberation.
This anthology follows the trail of esteemed works such as “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings of Radical Women of Color” and “Na Wahine Koa: Hawaiian Women for Sovereignty and Demilitarization.” This anthology includes poetry, essays, visual art, and narratives penned by authors and artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color from Hawaii and beyond. While our contributors span a diverse spectrum of experiences and identities, they all share a common commitment to individual and collective well-being. Our contributors astutely showcase how their expressions of resistance and liberation, whether through visual art or written text, align with one or more of the central themes of Weaving Our Stories: resistance through cultural memory, accountability, resisting false binaries, and countering hegemony.
In tandem with the community collection of stories that revolve around resistance, this anthology also highlights the remarkable achievements of our six accomplished Black youth organizers. These young individuals dedicated a year to the Weaving Our Stories Youth Series during the pandemic, delving into the power and relevance of storytelling in our journey of resistance and liberation. Each of the six youth activists provides an overview of their Community Impact Design Projects.
These culminating endeavors addressed community issues by proposing interventions that harness our resistance themes and our three Pillars of Liberation—namely, institutions, structures/methodology, and people.
This anthology offers celebrations of our triumphs, our joys, and our unwavering resilience. Simultaneously, they advocate for our ongoing resistance, insisting on justice and a sincere confrontation with the often-overlooked lived experiences that deserve acknowledgement.
Pius Adesanmi died in the doomed Ethiopian Airline flight 302 on March 10, 2019. Wreaths for a Wayfarer: An Anthology in Honour of Pius Adesanmi is an assemblage of 267 original poems written by 127 established and emerging African writers. While some of the poets celebrate Adesanmi, others reflect philosophically on existence, mortality, immortality and/or offer hope for the living. In this memorably textured collection, the poets – some who knew, and some who did not know Adesanmi – exorcise the pains of loss through provocative poems that pour out their beating hearts with passion.
Pius Adesanmi died in the doomed Ethiopian Airline flight 302 on March 10, 2019. Wreaths for a Wayfarer: An Anthology in Honour of Pius Adesanmi is an assemblage of 267 original poems written by 127 established and emerging African writers. While some of the poets celebrate Adesanmi, others reflect philosophically on existence, mortality, immortality and/or offer hope for the living. In this memorably textured collection, the poets – some who knew, and some who did not know Adesanmi – exorcise the pains of loss through provocative poems that pour out their beating hearts with passion.
Nikesha Breeze has taken pages from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, taken his words, and forced them to leave his colonized mind. She has made the words her own in poetic form. She illuminates the invisible Black voices inside, a radical, surgical, and unapologetic Black appropriation, at the same time as a careful birthing and spiritual road map. The resulting poems are sizzling purifications, violent restorations of integrity, pain, wound, bewilderment, rage, and, sometimes, luminous generosity. This is a work of Reclamation. The author, Nikesha Breeze, has slowly, page by page, reclaimed the text of the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. This racist turn-of-the-19th-century book was pivotal in the continued dehumanization of Black people and in particular of African people, as it painted an image of bestiality on the Congo people and the continent. It is laced with racist imagery and language. The author has reappropriated the book, page by page, making “BlackOut” poetry for each page, isolating methodically the words to create new poems of power and black voice within the text —stealing the language and reappropriating the power.
Truth be told, I never thought I would write another volume of poetry after the last, I will not Dance to Your Beat (2011). The reason was that my previous volumes were reactive to the circumstances of the times. Patriots and Cockroaches (1992) was a reaction to the socio-political corruption that had engulfed Africa and dimmed the enthusiasm that had been built by the years of struggle for independence. Whereas we thought we were stepping into a post-colonial era, what we stepped into was a vicious neo-colonial times. The next collection, Poems on the Run (1995) was a reaction to military autocracy and the repression that followed. The volume was literally written underground. This was followed by Intercepted (1998) all written while detained at Kalakuta Republic of Alagbon Close. We Thought it was Oil But it was Blood (2002) responded to two things primarily – extractivism and the accompanying human and environmental rights abuses in the Niger Delta and elsewhere. The massive erosion of biodiversity and attacks on food sovereignty through the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into our agricultural system inspired I Will not Dance to your Beat.
What you have in your hands, or on your screens, is a compilation that is largely more meditative than the previous collections. There are moments of reflection on the colonial and neoliberal foundations that permit a willful disconnection from nature and the resultant destructive extractivism.
Some of the poems came through conversations and poetry writing sessions with Peter Molnar, Maryam al-Khawaja — Rafto Human Rights laureates and Salil Tripathi, a member of the board of PEN International, in August 2017. The sessions held at a beautifully rustic location in Celleno, Italy, were documented on celluloid by the duo of Maria Galliana Dyrvik and Anita Jonsterhaug Vedå of SMAU, a multimedia firm in Norway. Poetic relationship with Maria and Anita has continued over the years and their work continues to inspire more and more poems.
Love after Babel is a collection of poems that deal with themes such as caste, the resistance of Dalit people, Dalit literature, islamophobia and other political themes, with almost one hundred poems divided into three sections (Call Me Ishmail Tonight; Name Me a Word; Love after Babel). The introduction is by Suraj Yengde (award-winning scholar and activist from India, author of the bestseller Caste Matters, inaugural postdoctoral fellow at the Initiative for Institutional Anti-racism and Accountability, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School).
Chandramohan’s poems are dialogues of the ‘ self’ with the ‘other’. He brings to life a world that subverts myths, literary canons, gender and caste stereotypes by pooling in sparklingly new metaphors with sensitivity and care. He draws his images from contemporary incidents as well as myths and legends of yore, and delves deep into the politicized realm, thus ‘rupturing the hymen of demarcations’ of identity, resistance, repression and love.
