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Badilisha Poetry feature: Austin Bukenya, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, Odia Ofeimun, Dorian Haarhoff and Dawn Garisch

Beyond community, city or country

17 september 2015

This feature, which introduces major poets from Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Namibia to the Poetry International archive, marks our first collaboration with Badilisha Poetry X-change. Badilisha Poetry X-change (www.badilishapoetry.com) is ‘both an online audio archive and Pan-African poetry show delivered in radio format. Now the largest online collective of African poets on the planet, Badilisha has showcased and archived over 400 Pan-African poets from 30 different countries. It reflects the myriad of rhythms and rhymes, voices, perspectives and aspirations from all corners of the globe’.

Since its inception in 2008, Badilisha has been praised extensively by the poets featured on its pages and has mobilized a strong international following. Kwame Dawes (Ghana/USA), in a special profile on the site for CNN.com, describes it as ‘beautifully designed, user-friendly, eclectic, intelligent, generous and constantly seeking to expand it’s range . . . simply one of the best things to happen to African poetry in a long time’. Toni Stuart (South Africa) adds:

The archive serves a number of purposes: it makes poets available to an international audience -- and for less known poets, this is a chance to be heard beyond their own community, city or country. It raises the profile of poetry from and of the continent, while allowing people to engage with the words through hearing and reading them.

We are honored to host and to feature a selection of Badilisha’s materials on our website and offer special thanks to editor Linda Kaoma. As Botswanan poet Mbali Kgosidintsi tells The Guardian: ‘They really are pioneers. They are publishing poetry online and creating an African network. It’s a high standard of poets and the fact I can refer someone to Badilisha, and say I’m published on the site, is great’.

IN THIS FEATURE:

• Austin Bukenya (Uganda)

• Ngwatilo Mawiyoo (Kenya)

• Odia Ofeimun (Nigeria)

• Dawn Garisch (South Africa)

• Dorian Haarhoff (South Africa/Namibia)

Explore Badilisha’s extensive archive via its website, and follow the X-change on Twitter and Facebook.