About this Event
Warp and Weft: Black Women’s Voices in (South) African Poetry
Join us for an evening of poetry performances, conversation and research, celebrating the work of the 2025 Africa Thesis Award winner Yonwaba Mathshobotiyana!
Yonwaba won the Africa Thesis Award of the African Studies Centre, Leiden University, for her Master’s Thesis on the resurgence of Black women’s poetry, written at the University of the Free State, South Africa.
This evening we will discuss how Black women poets have established their voice and visibility within a literary canon that has historically devalued the contributions of Black women. What strategies of resistance and resilience have lead to their resurgence – not only in South Africa, but also in other African countries, and the wider world?
With:
Julia-Beth Harris, poet-storyteller
Twasiima Bigirwa, poet and visiting fellow African Studies Centre Leiden
Yonwaba Mathshobotiyana, winner Africa Thesis Award
· Poetry readings and performances
· Conversation with and between poets
· Presentation by Yonwaba Mathshobotiyana about her thesis
· Reading of the jury report and handing of the award to Yonwaba Mathshobotiyana
This evening is a collaborative venture between the African Studies Centre Leiden, ZAM Magazine, and Zuid-Afrika Huis.
Practical information
Date: Tuesday 24 November
Start: 19.30
Walk-in at 19.00, small exhibition of poetry works
Drinks 21:00
Venue: ZAM Magazine, Tussen de Bogen 66, Amsterdam
Free entrance
Registration required
Event venue & nearby stays
ZAM Studio, Tussen de Bogen 66, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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