Motene: Kritya will unlock doors for Botswana
Thato Kala | Friday October 31, 2014 15:30
The former Generations actress, Motene, has previously pepped up Botswana poetry after seeing Ngwao Putswa perform during Heart’s Girl Power CD and book launch last year.
She believes her client’s India assignment that takes place in a fortnight can only create opportunities for other local poets like Putswa.
“It’s great that Botswana poetry is getting across the world. People are hearing about a country that has immense poetic talent,” she told Arts & Culture from her Johannesburg base.
Motene is delighted Heart’s career is recieving international recognition after her recent visit to Kenya where she attended Storymoja.
“I think she is going to grow from strength to strength and I am hoping what will come out of this will be more and more invites internationally. Each and every time she will get bigger,” she said.
Dr Rati Saxena, Kritya’s director and chief editor, has among the world’s leading poets selected Berry Heart to participate in this year’s festival to be held at Trivandrum, Kerala.
The award-winning poet with four books reveres the Botswana artist and wrote in an invite: “You are an eminent poet of modern times, and our selection committee has recommended your name for our upcoming poetry festival. We will be much obliged if you could make it convenient to attend our festival.”
Heart sent 10 poems including her well-known poems Child of My Mother and Mmammoledi to the festival committee. The 10 poems have been translated to Hindi and Malayam.
In addition, the poems will be included in the festival’s Poetry Anthology to be published during the week of the festival.
Kritya is a trust, formally registered in January 2007 in Kerala, India with a view to advance and enrich art, literature and culture. Along with other literary activities, Kritya organises an international poetry festival every year in different parts of India.
The ninth Kritya has been pencilled in for Trivandrum, Kerala from November 16 to 18, 2014.
The festival theme this time is Enlightenment through Poetry and Arts. Enlightenment is an awakening – waking up to a new awareness of oneself, of others, and of the entire universe.
Heart has reiterated this engagement is a sure sign her brand is recognised internationally.
She said: “People who do not believe in the Berry Heart brand can see it is growing internationally, it is getting recognised outside the country.”
This edition of Kritya festival aims to explore the enlightening and uniting aspect of poetry and its sister arts – how art as a medium can be put to constructive use on an individual as well as collective basis.
Heart and Saxena are scheduled to work in a studio recording collaboration when she makes her visit.
The duo were among the 159 international poets who wrote a poetry anthology that called for peace in Hazara, Afghanistan entitled A Poetry Anthology for The Hazara, which was published January this year.
The two have worked together since 2010 in several of Saxena’s theatre productions including Rebirth Of An Ostrich where Heart was the lead actress.