An interview with Cape poet, Archie
Swanson
How
long have you been in the poetry game?
What kind of poetry/ storytelling tradition exist in your culture/country and has this had any bearing on your writing?
I think that there has always been a strong tradition of political activist poetry because of apartheid but there are also strong themes relating to the natural beauty of South Africa. We are a very diverse culture with many traditions but story telling is a strong theme. Most of our indigenous history in South Africa, and I guess the rest of Africa, has been handed down from one generation to another through story telling
What urban influences (eg hip hop, slam poetry) have influenced your writing?
I grew up in the 70’s when there was a strong theme of the struggle of concrete jungle versus nature. I attend quite a few slam poetry events but it’s not my genre really. I read my own poetry very regularly
What style of writing (free verse, lyrical etc) do you lean towards?
I like simplicity. My poems have no capitals and no punctuation. Free verse is my primary medium but I do quite a bit of lyrical stuff and rhyming poetry – also some traditional forms like sonnets.
Which writers have influenced your writing?
I try not to be too influenced by anyone in particular but I have to say that my early influences were Khalil Gibran and Dylan Thomas. I am continually assimilating the poetry of those around me such as the great poets at Off the Wall like Hugh Hodge, Jacques Coetzee, Ralph Goodman and Riaz Solke, not to mention all the work that has come to light in the new anthology.
You mention that you’ve been a guest poet at Off the Wall, how do you think spoken word events help to preserve the art form and how do you think they’ve “changed the game.”
I believe that the relevance of any poets work is in the ear of the hearer. Poetry stirs the depth and breadth of our emotions. It inspires, warns and laughs with us. All of this cannot happen just as words on a page. There is an interaction when poetry is read and when you read you very soon discover what has quality and what has not by the reaction of those in the room. Reading and performing is completely essential. It’s the life-blood of what we do as poets.
In what ways have you used poetry to engage with your community?
I have written poems that relate to political hierarchy, war, poverty, religion. In London recently I was staying near an old Victorian School that was being torn down and wrote a poem about it that was used as part of the anti-demolition campaign on their website. (Unfortunately we failed, but at least we tried!) Poets are relevant. We reflect the ethos of our own thinking and the societies we live in. When great events are remembered it is always poems that are read because we reflect the deepest thoughts and emotions of the communities we form part of.
Have you read the anthology as yet, if so how do you think it changes the shape of African literature?
I received my copy just the other day. I’m not finished reading it yet. Time will tell how significant this anthology is. We walk in the steps of great African writers and, who knows, maybe some of the anthology poets will rise to the levels of those that have gone before. I personally think that the value of the anthology lies in its diversity – many poems on many subjects written by many African voices from many diverse cultures and countries within our great mother continent.
BEST "NEW" AFRICAN POETS 2015 ANTHOLOGY can be purchased at Amazon and in South Africa at Exclusive books here
http://www.exclus1ves.co.za/books/Best-New-African-Poets-2015-Anthology-Edited-by-Tendai-R-Mwanaka-Edited-by-Daniel-Da-Purifacacao/000000000100000000001000000000000000000000000009789956763481/
I started writing when I was 13 and had poems
published in our school magazine and a South African national publication of
school poetry called English Alive, when I was 16
What kind of poetry/ storytelling tradition exist in your culture/country and has this had any bearing on your writing?
I think that there has always been a strong tradition of political activist poetry because of apartheid but there are also strong themes relating to the natural beauty of South Africa. We are a very diverse culture with many traditions but story telling is a strong theme. Most of our indigenous history in South Africa, and I guess the rest of Africa, has been handed down from one generation to another through story telling
What urban influences (eg hip hop, slam poetry) have influenced your writing?
I grew up in the 70’s when there was a strong theme of the struggle of concrete jungle versus nature. I attend quite a few slam poetry events but it’s not my genre really. I read my own poetry very regularly
What style of writing (free verse, lyrical etc) do you lean towards?
I like simplicity. My poems have no capitals and no punctuation. Free verse is my primary medium but I do quite a bit of lyrical stuff and rhyming poetry – also some traditional forms like sonnets.
Which writers have influenced your writing?
I try not to be too influenced by anyone in particular but I have to say that my early influences were Khalil Gibran and Dylan Thomas. I am continually assimilating the poetry of those around me such as the great poets at Off the Wall like Hugh Hodge, Jacques Coetzee, Ralph Goodman and Riaz Solke, not to mention all the work that has come to light in the new anthology.
You mention that you’ve been a guest poet at Off the Wall, how do you think spoken word events help to preserve the art form and how do you think they’ve “changed the game.”
I believe that the relevance of any poets work is in the ear of the hearer. Poetry stirs the depth and breadth of our emotions. It inspires, warns and laughs with us. All of this cannot happen just as words on a page. There is an interaction when poetry is read and when you read you very soon discover what has quality and what has not by the reaction of those in the room. Reading and performing is completely essential. It’s the life-blood of what we do as poets.
In what ways have you used poetry to engage with your community?
I have written poems that relate to political hierarchy, war, poverty, religion. In London recently I was staying near an old Victorian School that was being torn down and wrote a poem about it that was used as part of the anti-demolition campaign on their website. (Unfortunately we failed, but at least we tried!) Poets are relevant. We reflect the ethos of our own thinking and the societies we live in. When great events are remembered it is always poems that are read because we reflect the deepest thoughts and emotions of the communities we form part of.
Have you read the anthology as yet, if so how do you think it changes the shape of African literature?
I received my copy just the other day. I’m not finished reading it yet. Time will tell how significant this anthology is. We walk in the steps of great African writers and, who knows, maybe some of the anthology poets will rise to the levels of those that have gone before. I personally think that the value of the anthology lies in its diversity – many poems on many subjects written by many African voices from many diverse cultures and countries within our great mother continent.
BEST "NEW" AFRICAN POETS 2015 ANTHOLOGY can be purchased at Amazon and in South Africa at Exclusive books here
http://www.exclus1ves.co.za/books/Best-New-African-Poets-2015-Anthology-Edited-by-Tendai-R-Mwanaka-Edited-by-Daniel-Da-Purifacacao/000000000100000000001000000000000000000000000009789956763481/
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