Koleka Putuma’s latest poetry collection inspired both a reckoning with our own traumas, an awakening to and acceptance of the courage that is possible and the ability we all have to access it, as well as a celebration of the women that came before us. MORERO bookclub read the collection in February and held a session online and in-person with amazing women!
One of the discussions that emerged from the online session was the conversation about what this collection of poems teaches us about the author. Koleka Putuma shows up unapologetic and in full ownership of her offering – both personally and materially, across the value chain! We felt privileged to have access to her resistance of the system and her invitation for us to do the same in our own corners of the world.
The in-person session spotlighted her focus on erasure and how she makes women that history has ignored/erased visible to us. She expands our knowledge while also cautioning us about the ways in which visibility can often be hollow. An artists’ fame is not directly correlated to their ability to maintain their livelihoods.
We are left in awe of Koleka for stepping into her gift with such fullness, grace and conviction. This book is both a collection of the nightmares of South African black women and an intentional remembrance. She writes our lives into history with precision and accuracy so that when this book is read 100 years from now, they will know we were here, they will know how we suffered and they will know that we triumphed.
Thank you Koleka Putuma for this offering! We love you and so look forward to attending the stage adaptation.
Come join us for our next read in April – sign up here
MORERO 