Expression is Golden

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Monwabisi Xhakwe

InZync poetry sessions are a surprisingly humble space where bras and sisters come together in an intimate cipher, where rappers informally freestyle over self-created beats, a pre-game warm-up rolling together blades of spiritual enlightenment, avoiding the blue lights of the five o’s and sharing a moment while spitting lyrical lines.

From the diverse crowd of people with the like-minded goal of enjoying a night of poetry at the Amazink Eatery in Kayamandi township on the 2nd of August, the popularity of the InZync Poetry Session, organised by the Stellenbosch Literary Project, SLIPnet, is evident. People stand at the back of the hall, squashed together, waiting for the poetic punchlines of these eloquent wordsmiths.

“I like your swag brother,” one of the lyricists comments to a fellow word artist before the cipher begins, shyly stroking the fibres of his clothes, seeking to make reference to his inadequacies as a style master. “Sometimes the ghetto gets to me,” he continues.

This is just a simple characterisation of the people who participate in the InZync Poetry Sessions: creative, humble and appreciative.

Tebogo Louw

The stage lights cast hues of red and blue on the skins of the poets on stage as their words reverberate over the microphone to fill what is now an inadequate venue for this event.

Some patrons sit on the floor closer to the stage hoping that each syllable of each word spoken by these poets on stage will gently fall on to their heads to ignite some cerebral inspiration; others meander outside, talking and laughing, using the poetry as a gentle backdrop to new friendships formed on a warm winter’s night.

Adrian van Wyk, a prominent emcee, says that as the organisers of the InZync poetry sessions they are trying to organise a bigger and better space to hold the event, a space that can seat up to 500 people, as the Amazink Eatery is quickly becoming too small to hold the crowds drawn to the event.

Tonight, the InZync poetry session is preceded by Monwabisi Xhakwe, a finger poet as Adrian calls him, a guitarist who startles the crowd into silence with his rendition of the popular African jazz tune “Ntyilo Ntylio”.

Usually, sessions begin with an open mic session where amateur poets recite pieces of their work, and tonight it is no different.

The poets use forms of spoken word and emceeing, from the abbreviation MC, Master of Ceremonies, a poet who raps to inspire people, much to the audience’s enjoyment. These poets choose to continue the oral tradition that forms the basis of ancient storytelling through the performance of poems that are not meant to be consumed silently by their audience.

InZync sessions are an artistic explosion of young talent, of people who have something to say, something with which to be angry or even better, something to love: words.

A cheering crowd and finger-snaps are all the affirmation the poets need as the words they have feverishly worked on are received by the audience’s ears.

It is evident that the relationship between the poets is almost as organic as the inhaled vapours of their rolled-up creativity. They are brethren. They display a rare camaraderie between people who should be competing but are, in fact, supporting one another through the discovery of their poetic voices.

Elroy Macklaglen, Verrassings, as his stage name states, surprises and entertains with his dramatic body language while reciting poems in Afrikaans, English, Xhosa and even French. His poem “So what’s that’s life” explores the hardships of life and was a clear favourite with audience members: shouts, laughs and claps would intermittently explode from the crowd as his face and body contorted to relay the message of his poem.

Clearly, in this atmosphere, language is not a barrier and race becomes a ghostly relic that seeks only to make reference to the content of the poet’s poems.

Allison-Claire Hoskins, a word artist accustomed to the glares and finger-snaps of the audience, recites a poem challenging protests against rape called “Red Tape”.

“No I will not wear this red tape because this red tape will not stop rape only fuel more hate,” she exclaims. “Only men get away with murder and don’t even serve a full sentence.”

The previous winner of the InZync Poetry Slam, Thabiso Nkoana, simply expresses a deep understanding of the country’s issues. While addressing a complex topic, he provides solutions for the problems that face the country. Thabiso breaks off into an impromptu rap about national identity, sporadically bursting into Sesotho rhymes, causing one audience member to jump up in agreement with his words.

As much as the words are written in pink on old blue-lined school exercise paper or recited effortlessly from the memories of the lyricists on stage, InZync Poetry Sessions show you that this is a community of sharing, where one’s ideas are as powerful as the poets proclaim them to be.

Allison Claire Hoskins

This contribution was produced as part of a collaboration between LitNet and the University of Stellenbosch's Department of Journalism in 2013.

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