TJ to embark on Danish residence
Mpho Tlale | Wednesday April 2, 2014 10:15
Dema, who is constantly on the road, said that her trip is a part of the Danish International Visiting Residence programme (DIVA) that houses visiting artists to work on various projects.
She said that DIVA ropes in foreign artists for skills transfer as the artist does not only impart knowledge but also learns from the interactions.
The poet is also an arts administrator. She said that the opportunity for a residency was organised by Peter Campbell Bensted whom she met in 2010 and has been following her works since then.
On talking about her trip, TJ said out that she is happy to be given such a chance as she also stands to learn a thing or two from it.
She said that she is till sorting out the logistics and will leave some time this week or next week to embark on her two months’ engagement. She will be working with the local community on projects that include hosting workshops. Furthermore, the poet said that she will be sharing some of her craft and will perform at some point in time during the course of her stay there.
“I will use some of my old readings, but there will be new pieces as well, which will be inspired by the environment around me. A new environment is bound to give some writing motivation,” she said.
In another platform the African Poetry Book Fund alongside other six African poets published TJ’s works in a March series this year. TJ’s works are published under the title Mandible, which is available online at Amazon. She said the book is not available as a soft copy. However, a pre-order can still be placed on Amazon to get the copies, which will be available some time in April.