The Ecca group of poets was founded at the University of Fort Hare.
The group writes poetry, publishes an anthology and uses the money raised to fund their next anthology.
Brian Walter, a founder member, explains:
We have never sought funding: The model we have developed over the years is to write a book, then sell enough copies so the next year can see its book. No one makes money, but we try to get the poetry out. It’s so simple that I have often wondered why more folk don’t do this.
Of being a member of the group, Jacques Coetzee, the 2022 winner of the Ingrid Jonker Prize, says:
I value being in conversation with other poets, resonating off each other’s work. I look forward each year to the time when the poems for a new collection start arriving. There’s that sense of community, the space to grow, a reason to keep writing.
The name
The name of the group is derived from the Ecca Pass, just north of Makhanda (Grahamstown), on the R75, which links Makhanda with Fort Beaufort.
Since the Ecca group started at Fort Hare, which is not too far from Fort Beaufort, the poets would often travel on that road.
Andrew Geddes Bain built the pass. He named it after the Ecca River, a tributary of the Fish River. Ecca apparently is of Khoi origin; it means “brackish” or “salty”.
The salt of being
The title of this year’s collection echoes the origin of the word ecca. It comes from a poem, “The way” by Silke Heiss.
The poem is about finding water under challenging conditions, and about finding the inspiration to write poetry at the same time. From it comes this stanza, and the title of the collection:
yes, in spite of bitter pollution,
tasting the salt,
of being.
The salt of being is the 26th collection released by the group.
A reading
On 5 December 2023 the group read poems from the new collection at the South End Museum in Gqeberha. South End is to Gqeberha what District 6 is to Cape Town.
Six of the seven contributors were present.
Brian Walter
Olwethu Mxoli
Ed Burle
Silke Heiss
Alvené Appolis-Du Plessis
Jacques Coetzee
Lara Kirsten was unable to attend. Silke Heis read two of her poems.
The anthology opens with “We have lost it” by Mzi Mahola. Mahola used to be a member of the group. He passed away recently.
For more information, or to order one of their collections, go to https://eccapoets.blogspot.com.