Koleka Putuma

Koleka Putuma (born in Port Elizabeth, 22 March 1993) is a South African queer poet and theatre-maker.[1] She was nominated one of Okay Africa's most influential women in 2019.[2]

Biography

Putuma was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 1993.[3] She studied for a BA in Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town.[4] In 2016 she was awarded the PEN student writing prize for her poem 'Water'.[5] This poem is used in schools as a reminder that access to water is political, historical and racialized.[6]

Recurrent themes in Putuma's work are love, queerness, decolonial struggle and the legacy of apartheid,[7] as well as the intersection of patriarchy with those ideas and identities.[8] She works as a theatre producer for Design Indaba[9] and lives in Cape Town.[10]

Collective Amnesia

Putuma first came to global attention with the publication of her poetry collection Collective Amnesia in 2017. The Johannesburg Review of Books hailed Putuma as a "genius".[11] It was released with complementary photography by Cape Town-based photographer Andy Mkosi.[12] Within three months of its release the book sold 2000 copies, had 17 launches across South Africa and was on the syllabus at two universities.[13] After eight months it had sold over 5000 copies and Putuma had given performances of it across three continents.[14] It was translated to Spanish by Lawrence Schimel and Arrate Hidalgo and was published in 2019.[15] Its Danish translation is due to be published in 2020. As of 2018, Putuma is the best-selling poet in South African history.[16]

Collective Amnesia is notable for its repeated use of the word womxn, which explicitly includes trans women and women of colour.[17]

Reception

Collective Amnesia has quickly become a key text to understanding postcolonial South Africa, particularly with its focus on black women's bodies and queer identities. Haith argues that the collection is as much a 'cultural object' of contemporary South Africa, as it is a text.[18] Burger's critique places Putuma's use of the water as a literary device within the context of other South African poets, such as Ronelda S Kamfer.[19] The poem 'Water' ha become a key text for literary explorations of hydrocolonialism.[20] Pieterse emphasises Putuma's writing about black womxnhood, alongside the poet Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese.[21]

Whilst it was Putuma's poetry that brought her to a global stage, her work for stage has also been received to critical acclaim, dealing with contemporary political issues. Her recent play No Easter Sunday for Queers brought attention to the violent discrimination that lesbians in South Africa can face.[22] Mbuzeni deals with the orphan crisis and is narrated by five young women, who whilst they play joke about death.[23] Boehmer considers Putuma within a broader canon of postcolonial poetry and short-story writing, which can feel for the reader like a "call to action".[24]

Works

Plays
  • SCOOP: kitchen play for carers and babes (2013) - the first South African play designed for babies up to 12 months old, with Magnet Theatre[25]
  • Ekhaya - written for 2-7 year olds[25]
  • UHM (2014)
  • Woza Sarafina (2016)
  • Mbuzeni’ (2018)
  • No Easter Sunday for Queers (2019) - a drama about religion and queerness based on one of Putuma's poems.[26]

Poetry
  • Imbebwu Yesini (2016, editor)[27]
  • Collective Amnesia (2017)[3]

Awards
  • National Poetry Slam Championship (2014)[10]
  • PEN South Africa Student Writing Prize (2016)[28]
  • Mbokodo Rising Light Award (2017)[29]
  • SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition (2018)[30]
  • Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Honouree(2018)[31]
  • Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry (2018)[32]
  • Distell National Playwright Competition (2019)[33]

References
  1. Munro, Brenna (2018). "Pleasure in Queer African Studies: Screenshots of the Present". College Literature. 45 (4): 659–666. doi:10.1353/lit.2018.0040. ISSN 1542-4286.
  2. "OKAYAFRICA - 100 WOMEN". OKAYAFRICA's 100 WOMEN. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  3. Putuma, Koleka (2017-04-13). Collective amnesia (First ed.). Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 978-0-620-73508-7. OCLC 986218819.
  4. "Koleka Putuma | Badilisha Poetry – Pan-African Poets". badilishapoetry.com. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  5. Mulgrew, Nick. "Water by Koleka Putuma | PEN South Africa". Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  6. "Koleka Putuma: Water - Classroom - Art & Education". www.artandeducation.net. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  7. "PARSE". parsejournal.com. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  8. "Koleka Putuma Talks Poetry Post-Patriarchy and Black Joy". consent.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  9. "Design Indaba appoints Koleka Putuma as theatre producer". www.bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  10. "Poetry On The Road | May 22 – 27 2019 Koleka Putuma". www.poetry-on-the-road.com. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  11. "Portrait of the poet as a young genius: Bongani Madondo reviews Koleka Putuma's Collective Amnesia". The Johannesburg Review of Books. 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  12. "Koleka Putuma's poems of celebration, grief and rage". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  13. Mkhabela, Sabelo (2017-07-22). "Koleka Putuma Is the Groundbreaking New Voice of South African Poetry". Medium. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  14. Gantsho, Vangile (2017-12-01). "Collective Amnesia, Koleka Putuma: reviews". New Coin Poetry. 53 (2): 77–80. ISSN 0028-4459.
  15. Murua, James (2018-11-19). "Koleka Putuma poetry collection "Collective Amnesia" now in Spanish". James Murua's Literature Blog. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  16. d'Abdon, Raphael (2018-07-03). "'You Say "Performance Poet", I Hear "Dance Nigger, Dance"': Problematizing the Notion of Performance Poetry in South Africa". English Studies in Africa. 61 (2): 49–62. doi:10.1080/00138398.2018.1540154. ISSN 0013-8398.
  17. Mathunjwa, Zimkhitha. "Koleka Putuma's Collective Amnesia Insists On Visibility And Healing". consent.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  18. Haith, Chelsea (2018-08-02). ""I question why I understand what she has said" – Language and decolonial justice in Koleka Putuma's debut poetry collection 'Collective Amnesia'". A Moveable Type: 45. doi:10.14324/111.1755-4527.081.
  19. Burger, Bibi (2019-12-18). "'Our respect for water is what you have termed fear': The Ocean in the Poetry of Ronelda S. Kamfer and Koleka Putuma". Journal of Southern African Studies. 0: 1–16. doi:10.1080/03057070.2020.1697552. ISSN 0305-7070.
  20. Hofmeyr, Isabel (2019-04-01). "Provisional Notes on Hydrocolonialism". English Language Notes. 57 (1): 11–20. doi:10.1215/00138282-7309644. ISSN 0013-8282.
  21. Pieterse, Annel (2018-01-02). "Knowledge and Unlearning in the Poetry of Koleka Putuma and Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese". Scrutiny2. 23 (1): 35–46. doi:10.1080/18125441.2018.1505937. ISSN 1812-5441.
  22. "Koleka Putuma's "No Easter Sunday for Queers"". The Theatre Times. 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  23. Hofer, Alison (2019-11-20). "Contemporary plays by African women". South African Theatre Journal. 0: 1–5. doi:10.1080/10137548.2019.1676571. ISSN 1013-7548.
  24. Boehmer, Elleke (2018). "The Transformative Force of the Postcolonial Line: Protest Poetry and the Global Short Story". In Boehmer, Elleke (ed.). Postcolonial Poetics. Postcolonial Poetics: 21st-Century Critical Readings. Springer International Publishing. pp. 173–192. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90341-5_8. ISBN 978-3-319-90341-5.
  25. "ABOUT". Koleka Putuma. 2012-01-23. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  26. "Koleka Putuma's Christian/ queer collision – The Mail & Guardian". Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  27. Putuma, Koleka; Perez, Javier (2016). "Imbewu Yesini". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  28. Mulgrew, Nick. "Announcing the PEN South Africa Student Writing Prize Winner | PEN South Africa". Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  29. "Koleka Putuma's Collective Amnesia Wins the Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, Nick Makoha & Dami Ajayi Shortlisted". Brittle Paper. 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  30. Desk, BWW News. "Koleka Putuma Announced As Winner Of 2018 SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  31. Africa, Forbes (2018-06-04). "Under 30 Creatives". Forbes Africa. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  32. "Prizes". African Poetry Book Fund. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  33. "OPEN CALL: 2020 Distell National Playwright Competition". Between 10 and 5. 2019-08-13. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
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