ATHOL WILLIAMS

Monday 18 January 2021 at 19:30 SAST

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Athol Williams has published fifteen books, including five books of poetry. His most recent book, Fragile, is a poetry-art collaboration with 65 South African artists. He has received the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award twice and the Cultural Affairs Award for Contribution to the Literary Arts from the Western Cape Government. Athol holds degrees from Harvard, Oxford, MIT, LSE, London Business School and Wits. He is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Ethics at Stellenbosch University.

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FINUALA DOWLING

Monday 14 December at 19:30 SAST

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Finuala Dowling’s debut collection of poetry, I flying, was published in 2002. It went into multiple printings and won the Ingrid Jonker prize. Her subsequent collections, Doo-Wop Girls of the Universe and Notes from the Dementia Ward consolidated her reputation as an inventive sketcher of the domestic sublime. Finuala has been invited to read her poetry in France and the UK, and her chapbook, Change is possible, sold out at the 2014 Aldeburgh festival. In 2018 her new and selected poems, Pretend You Don’t Know Me was published by Bloodaxe Books in the UK. In 2019, Kwela published a South African edition. Finuala is also the author of five novels, including What Poets Need, Homemaking for the Down-At-Heart and Okay, Okay, Okay. Her background is in adult education and she currently works at UCT. Many of the people who have attended her poetry workshops over the years have gone on to publish collections and win prizes.

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ARCHIE SWANSON

Monday 07 December at 19:30 SAST

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Archie Swanson’s poetry has been widely anthologised with poems translated into isiXhosa, Spanish and Japanese. The poem ‘déjà vu’ was the inspiration for composer Grant McLachlan’s work – From the direction it should depart. He has been shortlisted for the UK Bridport Prize and Sol Plaatje Award. His poem ‘my guernica’ was this year’s runner-up in the English section of the AVBOB Poetry prize. He will be reading poems from his soon-to-be released third collection. Archie serves on the Board of the SA Literary Journal. Follow Archie on Instagram

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