On behalf of the Ingrid Jonker Prize Committee, I wish to announce that the winner for 2024 is A History of Disappearance by Sarah Lubala.
Comments by the judges:
A History of Disappearance traverses various locales – Johannesburg, Congo, Canada – in voices that are poised, precise and elegant. With deft integrity the poet explores the trauma of dislocation, war, grief and loss, rescuing the reader from the dehumanising language of spectacle. This collection is redolent with a vibrant sensory language, which unpeels, with delicate and delicious tension, layers of intimacy.
*
Lubala’s poems appear effortless because the trauma and subtle artistry are worn lightly. While fully evocative of contemporary Africa, the poems are so timeless and universally appealing that many lines could have been written by poets such as Sappho, or Sei Shōnagon of Medieval Japan. There are no wrong notes in this lyrical collection.
*
In a collection that balances hard-won experience and bittersweet new beginnings, Sarah Lubala finds a language all her own. Speaking from the other side of trauma and dislocation, these poems inquire what can still be asked from this life. Whether despairing, astonished or both, this collection is sure-footed and utterly unforgettable.
*
The three judges were Philipa Yaa De Villiers, Linda Mostert and Jacques Coetzee.
- Marius Crous: On behalf of the committee
Also read:
Press release: Shortlist for the Ingrid Jonker Prize 2024 announced