In July this year we published Joan Metelerkamp’s eighth volume of poetry, Now the World Takes These Breaths; Joan was in Cape Town for the launch, before heading to the MacGregor Poetry Festival and then Rio de Janeiro to present her poetry.
Colleen Crawford Cousins, long time literary friend of Joan’s was in conversation with her at the Book Lounge on Thursday 23rd October.
Joan has worked on the Rhodes MA in Creative Writing for a few years, and supervises MA students who are focusing on poetry. An interesting issue came up about how her students, the women students still struggle with the imposter syndrome that many women writers grapple with.
Who am I to have a voice? Am I pretty enough, gangster enough? #JoanMetelerkamp's common qu from female students @modjaji_bks @book_lounge
— Nadine Botha (@nadineb0tha) October 23, 2014
After the conversation part, the audience was treated to Joan reading extensively from her new book. Joan is one of the few (only) South African poets whose poems can be read individually, but more rewardingly as a body, one whole long poem, from cover to cover. Joan does credit to her work in her reading, she is a trained actress and the effect on the listener is mesmerising and deeply moving.
Joan Metelerkamp is one of South Africa’s foremost poets. She is the author of seven previous books of poems. Her poetry is quite different to that of most of her local contemporaries and has been favourably compared to that of Anne Carson and Louise Glück. Her work won literary prizes (SANLAM, Sydney Clouts) in the early 1990s and later she judged the DALRO and Ingrid Jonker prizes. Her poems have been widely published in local and international anthologies of South African poetry, and she has taken part in readings and literary lifestivals here and in Europe and America. She edited the South African poetry journal New Coin for some years and has also written poetry reviews and essays. She lives on a farm near Knysna.
Here are some photographs from the launch, and you can see more on the Modjaji Books Facebook page.
Book details
- Now The World Takes These Breaths by Joan Metelerkamp
Book homepage
EAN: 9781920590536
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