Litnet

"[I]n the mid-70s as he [Raymond] was putting together his collection of 20th-century English poetry ... From this initial stage, today the final product amounts to what is now known as the Danowski Poetry Library – a 75 000-volume collection of rare and first editions of modern and contemporary poetry at Emory University. It includes every poetry volume in English published world-wide in the 20th century."

"The motivation for the play is clear, and this can be a very important piece of theatre: the refugee crisis is, sadly, an ongoing one, and in some wealthy parts of the world, like Trump’s America, refugees – or people fleeing to have better lives – are not welcome." 

"The postponement of SONA is a metaphor for where we are as a country. We are a country in waiting. The dreams of 1994 and our hopes as citizens have been deferred. Again."

"The characters and the surroundings are drawn with the accuracy of a master painter, as the author’s descriptions evoke the hopelessness echoed in the area and in the lives of its inhabitants."

Navigate was launched at The Book Lounge on 31 January 2018. Paul Reeves captured the evening with his photos.

"The animated film Revolting rhymes, based on the 1982 Roald Dahl collection of poems for children, co-animated by Cape Town-based Triggerfish, has picked up critical claim and several awards. It has just been nominated for a 2018 Oscar for best animated short. The film is deserving of all the praise."

"I can only think of this.
That you can’t take photographs of
your healing."

"The mysteries of my sorrows
are like a constellation beyond
the trees."

"He made careful movements
with his hands. Played a cloud study of water vapour gospel with his guitar."

"And I was left thinking that glasses
make a face look interesting.
Even handsome. Even intelligent."

"Research on the constitution of foreign images of a canonical Afrikaans poet can start right here."

"'The selections from Africa up to now have mostly come from recommendations from friends,' says event founder and director Tiina Lokk-Tramberg. 'It is one of the areas where I would really like to get more submissions.'"

"A historic production of Shakespeare’s popular comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, will be presented at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre this year, directed by Tara Notcutt and featuring an all-female cast and creative team."

"The shape of water is beautifully styled and filmed and the actors give it their all, but the lack of substance and a stock-standard script lets the whole production down."

"Moses’ forty years in the wilderness
became my own. I am a machine. A new leaf. I know
how to restore my own soul."

"Barefoot in the sunny road of my dreams, I tell myself this./ Babies cry. All babies cry."

You are invited to the launch of Navigate on 31 January in Cape Town. Jolyn Phillips will introduce the poet, Karin Schimke, who will also read from her poetry collection.

"On a day-to-day basis, poems rush by me and through me all the time, and only now and again do I have the time to snatch them by their slippery tails and nail them to the page."

"Emptiness will
be on your tongue. It will
be your mother tongue
until a replacement comes along."

The South African Translators’ Institute (SATI) is pleased to call once again for nominations for its Prizes for Excellence in Translation and Dictionaries. Closing date: 19 January 2018.