Poets take turns at GIMC
Spira Tlhankane | Tuesday September 5, 2017 14:37
Just like last year, the event managed to attract equitable numbers. E.PIC was the MC of the day and even though he is not a poet, he managed to let the poets succeed one another the way daylight succeeds night.
The first poet to impress the audience was Poetess Phopho, who refers to herself as ‘Motswana wa Sekei’. Phopho always has the best introduction ever and she swung Setswana words around like a linguistic expert.
When everyone thought she would continue in Setswana, she suddenly switched to English and she was already oozing with confidence.
Just like other poets during that night she also incorporated music into her poetry. In one of her favourite pieces, she used simile to vividly describe Maun as a perfect destination. One by one she shared her childhood memories and created anticipation for people who have never been to Maun.
“Maun, you are the song that I waited for,” she said. In one of her poems she described a place where men find hiding beneath the bottom of women’s thighs. “These poems and verses are pedals to tiptoe into God’s kingdom,” she said.
Poetry was already visible except within the venue and when renowned poet TJ Dema arrived on stage, nothing was ever the same. With a rich spoken word background, TJ Dema was exactly what the doctor had ordered to cure the mistakes of other spoken word poets. A published author, TJ Dema commanded respect from her audience and the latter was silently watching and listening as perfectly constructed words oozed from her mouth.
She changed the tone with her last piece and told the audience that people tend to think that she does not have happy poems. She was so enchanting in the way she put emphasis in her intonation and voice reflection.
It was getting interesting, as with a lineup of youthful poets on the day, it was time for the elders to show them how it’s done.
University of Botswana language lecturer and published author, Barolong Seboni took to the stage. Even though he was reading from his published works, Seboni managed to stay relevant. He read one of his poems titled Gaborone Mall, which he said was written in the late 1970s when Gaborone was the most exciting place they could think of.
When everyone was starting to think that it was an all-girl affair, a young man called Morwa Motsamai took over and added masculinity into what was turning into a feminist atmosphere. Motsamai needed no introduction and he brought a saxophonist and a keyboard master for a jazz mood.
It was a unique mixture of jazz and spoken word. As usual, his unique aural patterns and composure made him an exception and the way he took his performance seriously was inspiring. His voice matched perfectly with the saxophone humming on the background while the keyboard roared in complement.