Frank Meintjies

Monday 18 Nov, 19:30: Frank Meintjies will be speaking about his new book, A Place To Night In, released by Botsotso. In this poetry collection, he navigates, to quote one of the poems, "the land, the land, the land" and engages with issues of dislocation, diverse landscapes, nature, attachments to place, and community. 

Frank has worked in the field of social development over many decades. He participates in public readings and facilitates poetry workshops. Frank’s creative writing has been included in publications such as New Coin, Ons Klyntji and Absolute Africa. His poetry collections include Lockdown Poems, Unfettered Days, Connexions and My Rainbow. He has also written several children’s stories and short stories. Join on Zoom!

Harry Owen

Monday Nov 11, 19.30: Originally from UK, where he was the inaugural Poet Laureate for Cheshire, Harry Owen moved to South Africa in 2008.

Outspoken in his commitment to the natural world and a passionate advocate of poetry, he is the author of ten collections, most recently Thicket: shades from the Eastern Cape, and for….

He has edited three anthologies – I Write Who I Am: an anthology of Upstart poetry; For Rhino in a Shrinking World; and Coming Home: poems of the Grahamstown diaspora.

For many years Harry hosted Reddits Poetry in Grahamstown. He holds a PhD in Creative Writing and lives near Stellenbosch. Join on Zoom!

Alan Finlay

Monday November 4, 19:30: Alan Finlay is a South African poet living in Argentina, working as a writer, researcher and editor on issues of media freedoms and internet rights. His poems have appeared in various journals in South Africa and abroad, and six collections of his poetry have been published by small presses.

Over the years he has founded and edited a number of literary publications, including Bleksem and donga (co-edited with Paul Wessels). His latest chapbook collection, The cactus of a bright sky, was published by Dye Hard Press in 2021. Join on Zoom!