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MY ARTICLES

New Frame 

Gqom and the poetic: Talking to Sho Madjozi

by Koleka Putuma

9 January 2019: Gqom artist Sho Madjozi relaxes against a “Silence” sign in Brixton Johannesburg. Far from quiet Madjozi has shifted the landscape of what language can do in popular culture.

The poet who became a gqom artist reveals her many names, what it is like to inhabit her musical persona and how she feels about South Africa’s poetry scene.

New Frame 

Sing a black girl’s song: Ntozake Shange’s genius

by Koleka Putuma

25 October 2010: Ntozake Shange at the New York City movie premiere of 'For Colored Girls' at the Ziegfeld Theatre.

The late playwright, poet and essayist will always be a guide for coming-to-being and for those seeking their own voices.

okayafrica.

I Would Rather Breathe Than Think Outside the Box

Collage of poet Koleka Putuma and a South African landscape

South African artists were already working for little to no pay, but the pandemic has unleashed a flood of exploitative work requests right when we need money the most.

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