Q: Who is Semy and when were you magnetized to poetry?
A: Semy is basically just a simple guy who hails from Khubetsoana was nicknamed Semy in high school. I actually fell in love with poetry by default in 2003. That is to say initially I hated poetry but was constantly bombarded by powerful serious life issues. That being the case I attempted to gain control over those emotions and issues by writing short stories but eventually found myself writing poetry.
Q: Who helped you to strengthen your knees and ligaments in poetry during your infant stage?
A: Two people helped me during that stage. The first one is Mr. sephoko Motelle who ismy reviewer and editor .He played a very pivotal role in modeling me. As a mature poet he took me through an extensive journey which introduced me to types and forms of poetry and how to effectively express myself. The second person is a fellow poet and friend of mine by the name of Chromate Bahlakoana who likewise fuelled and propelled my rocket of growth in poetry.
Q: How do you choose to define poetry?
A: For me poetry is the emotion blending with thought.
Q: Your local top three poets?
A: Wow! I wish I could you five but….. my number one poet is ‘Makuena “IVY” Mohola, number two, Ma-lord “ICE” Mefane and lastly Sechaba “LYRICAL BACTERIA” Keketsi.
Q: And your favorite international poets
A: My favorite international poets would be Mac Manaka, Fifi, Black Pearl and The coasters.
Q: According to you what is the state of poetry in Lesotho?
A: It is only now things are starting to happen in poetry and I am not even sure if people are aware as much us who are in the metropolitan vicinity are about that but generally in Maseru there is awareness about the presence of poetry in the country. I am not sure about other districts.
Q: Where has Semy performed thus far?
A: I have not really done many performances but I have at least performed at Ka-pitseng Lodge, at the ultimate f.m number of times now and at one school in ha Pita.
Q: Who have you worked with up until now and which projects have you participated in?
A: Thus far I have written extensively with Bahlakoana and Knowledge, have contributed to the WEEKLY MAIL Poets paradise and participate in the Poets Paradise Male Poets project. I have also together with two other fellow poets formed a group called Poet Alive Crew (P.A.C.). The group is made up of me, Knowledge and Bones. It is basically an entrepreneurial, inspirational and motivational poetry group. I have also contributed my poetry in the Immortal Verses project.
Q: What do you think there is to learn from the poetry sphere in our neighboring country South Africa?
A: Unity. I think their unified state has done great wonders for them hence they have been able to successfully implement poetry projects and hold successful poetry shows.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years to come?
A: I see myself having published three poetry anthologies and also owning a publishing house which will help to uplift poetry in the country in many ways.
Q: Your last words….
A: It is time for action.
[Adapted from Poetry Farm’s Poets Blog in the WEELY MAIL NEWSPAPER, vol. 02 issue 31]
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thabelang Makhooa
Thabelang is a shy motivated and inspired person who likes spending time with people especially those in the arts field.
Thabelang started writing poetry early 2006 after he was inspired by a friend who was already a poet and from that time he felt he can have his share of this beautiful art form.
Q: What motivates to remain in this art form, what keeps you going as a poet?
A: Basically going through other poets’ material inspires me a great deal, both local and international poets. Music also contributes in inspiring me, to a certain extend it gives me the very same inspiration brought by reading other poets’ poems.
Q: Who are your local top three poets and your favorite international poets?
A: Locally it has to be Tuks, Lyrical Bacteria and Mpheng. My favorite international poets are Saul Williams, Ntsiki Mazwai and Napo Masheane.
Q: From when you started writing until present do you think poetry as an art form has grown?
A: It has massively grown and the interesting part is that there is now a greater awareness of poetry in the country and most importantly the people are showing wonderful response.
Q: Where has Thabelang performed his poetry if at all he has had any performances?
A: Well I have not really done many performances I have managed to perform at the annual academic English fairs and have been a guest poet at the poetry corner on Miss P ‘s show at the Ultimate fm.
Q: Have you attempted to collaborate with any local poets thus far and who are those?
A: No I have not done any collaboration to this present time but I am planning to do that with Mpheng and T’sepang commonly known as T.
Q: Why do you plan to collaborate with the two poets you have just mentioned?
A: Well I have come to realize that my style of writing and theirs are very similar hence I can relate and work with them more easily.
Q: How do you plan to fuel your growth as a poet?
A: I plan to read more of poetry anthologies and notes available and read novels and any intelligent writings because I believe such have the capability to put one into a useful conversation with his mind, perception and analysis therefore inspire more.
Q: Where do you see Thabelang in about three year to come?
A: Wow! Interesting question. I plan to have done more performances and secured a good name for myself in performance poetry.
Q: Any projects you have been feature on thus far?
A: Yes I have contributed to the Poets Paradise Male Poets Project hosted by WEEKLY MAIL newspaper. The theme was male poets against gender based violence.
Q: Your last words to your fellow poets?
A: To my fellow male poets especially those who are still reluctant to come out I would simply like to encourage them to come forth and defeat their negativities and low self esteems. To the poets in general I would like to quote them a very good quote by an anonymous writer which says “our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure, we ask ourselves; who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented but who am I not to be”
[Adapted from Poetry Farm’s Poets Blog in the WEEKLY MAIL NEWSPAPER, vol. 2 issue 32]
Makuena Mohola
Young, Black, and Gifted
She is perhaps the youngest poet to hit Lesotho’s mainstream in as far as poetry is concerned, and making a grand entrance when she claimed her position among Lesotho’s top twenty poets, alongside some of Lesotho’s top names such as Teboho Rantsoabe, Ma-Lord Mefane, Mpho Sefali, you name them! Today Poets’ Blog brings you the story of this young lady, `Makuena Ivy Mohola, a young talent we are all proud of…
Q: Who is Ivy? And how does she relate to poetry?
A: Ivy is a 17 year old girl who tries as hard as she can to reach her goals, at her standard, and at her pace! In poetry, I am still crawling! …I’m still learning!
Q: When did you start writing your poetry? Could you say it’s an inborn thing or you grew into it?
A: Yah, you could say I grew up with it, because I have always kept a diary but basically, I was introduced to poetry in 2005. At that time I was not sure of myself, hence I came out in 2007.
Q: How many poems do you have so far?
A: I have quite a handful, but I am confident of only nine, so let me say nine!
Q: You were recently nominated as one of Lesotho’s top twenty poets, how did you feel about it?
A: It was humbling! It was humbling indeed, because I was among older people and me being the youngest showed that poetry is not just for the old and matured!
Q: Who do you look up to in the field of poetry and who would you like to collaborate with at some point in time?
A: Well, I used to look up to a lot of poets from a distance, but now I’ve had a pleasure of meeting some of them like Lyrical Bacteria and admired them, so I’d love to collaborate with him, and the likes of Lineo Kolobe, and Black Diamond. On the other hand, I’d like to see myself working with musical producers, and so far, I’ve worked with Nutz.
Q: But who are you top three local poets?
A: I must say, I was actually introduced to poetry by Thato Chobokoane… Otherwise my top three local poets in order of preference would be, Nuch, Thato Chobokoane, and since I’m new in this poetry thing, the last one would be ME…!! (she laughs)
Q: What is your definition of poetry?
A: Poetry is self-discovering. It’s classification at certain levels because at some point you put pen to paper and don’t know what to write but after writing, you discover something new…
Q: Relationship status…??
A: Hm… I have two brothers, so I choose to protect some people…!
Q: Ok. So where do you see yourself two years from now?
A: Within two years I’ll have inspired people , I’ll have definitely performed live, and since I’m not that much into writing a poetry book, in two years, I’ll still be reciting my poetry for live audiences!
Q: What do you think of the standard of poetry in the country and what do you think can be done to improve it?
A: It’s growing, and to improve it, I think people’s attitude towards poetry should change, so that they can attend poetry sessions where only poetry is shared, excluding other forms of entertainment.
Q: Your final words…
A: I’d like to shout out to all my friends – thank you for the support! And to all the poets that came before me as well, thank you, I came out because of you!
ADAPTED FROM POETRY FARM'S POETS BLOG IN THE WEEKLY MAIL NEWSPAPER, VOL. 02 ISSUE 35
She is perhaps the youngest poet to hit Lesotho’s mainstream in as far as poetry is concerned, and making a grand entrance when she claimed her position among Lesotho’s top twenty poets, alongside some of Lesotho’s top names such as Teboho Rantsoabe, Ma-Lord Mefane, Mpho Sefali, you name them! Today Poets’ Blog brings you the story of this young lady, `Makuena Ivy Mohola, a young talent we are all proud of…
Q: Who is Ivy? And how does she relate to poetry?
A: Ivy is a 17 year old girl who tries as hard as she can to reach her goals, at her standard, and at her pace! In poetry, I am still crawling! …I’m still learning!
Q: When did you start writing your poetry? Could you say it’s an inborn thing or you grew into it?
A: Yah, you could say I grew up with it, because I have always kept a diary but basically, I was introduced to poetry in 2005. At that time I was not sure of myself, hence I came out in 2007.
Q: How many poems do you have so far?
A: I have quite a handful, but I am confident of only nine, so let me say nine!
Q: You were recently nominated as one of Lesotho’s top twenty poets, how did you feel about it?
A: It was humbling! It was humbling indeed, because I was among older people and me being the youngest showed that poetry is not just for the old and matured!
Q: Who do you look up to in the field of poetry and who would you like to collaborate with at some point in time?
A: Well, I used to look up to a lot of poets from a distance, but now I’ve had a pleasure of meeting some of them like Lyrical Bacteria and admired them, so I’d love to collaborate with him, and the likes of Lineo Kolobe, and Black Diamond. On the other hand, I’d like to see myself working with musical producers, and so far, I’ve worked with Nutz.
Q: But who are you top three local poets?
A: I must say, I was actually introduced to poetry by Thato Chobokoane… Otherwise my top three local poets in order of preference would be, Nuch, Thato Chobokoane, and since I’m new in this poetry thing, the last one would be ME…!! (she laughs)
Q: What is your definition of poetry?
A: Poetry is self-discovering. It’s classification at certain levels because at some point you put pen to paper and don’t know what to write but after writing, you discover something new…
Q: Relationship status…??
A: Hm… I have two brothers, so I choose to protect some people…!
Q: Ok. So where do you see yourself two years from now?
A: Within two years I’ll have inspired people , I’ll have definitely performed live, and since I’m not that much into writing a poetry book, in two years, I’ll still be reciting my poetry for live audiences!
Q: What do you think of the standard of poetry in the country and what do you think can be done to improve it?
A: It’s growing, and to improve it, I think people’s attitude towards poetry should change, so that they can attend poetry sessions where only poetry is shared, excluding other forms of entertainment.
Q: Your final words…
A: I’d like to shout out to all my friends – thank you for the support! And to all the poets that came before me as well, thank you, I came out because of you!
ADAPTED FROM POETRY FARM'S POETS BLOG IN THE WEEKLY MAIL NEWSPAPER, VOL. 02 ISSUE 35
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Thokozane Motinyane
THOKOZANE’S PROFILE
Given her emotional recitals and the poetry that compels you to listen, you are sure to knock in her room of poetry and yet hesitate to knock your way out. With her sweet voice and the poems you can relate to without much difficulty Thokozani Motinyane definitely deserves a share of your attention. Poets’ blog went out of its way to bring you the interesting profile of this young talented poet
Brief description of Thokozane, and when she started poetry: Thokozane is a loving, caring and ever smiling person. She started poetry in 2004.
Her inspiration: she was inspired by the well known Mpho Sefali, well before Mpho published her book. They met at a fashion show where Mpho recited a few good pieces. And that’s where it started!
Her definition of Poetry: she chooses to define poetry as a tool of giving out your deeper inner feelings, which would rather be insufficient with ordinary language.
Her local top three poets: she gave four, being, Ma-lord, Mpho Sefali, Lineo Kolobe and Sechaba Keketsi.
Favorite international poet: Ntsiki Mazwai; with whom she wishes to collaborate with in future.
People who helped her with her poetry: Mpho Sefali, Lyrical Bacteria
Poetry projects she has been involved in: recorded a poem called Africa Unite for the Fana ka Lerato Fana ka Bophelo AIDS project; recorded some poems for Dj Mosh’s house album, Dreams and is working on a project called the Letsibolo Poetry Project with Lyrical Bacteria.
Her future in poetry: she would like to publish an anthology of poetry although not in the near future, but for now, she likes performances than anything hence for now she will stick to performing.
View on poets can improve their art: read more, search the net to find out about poetry in other countries and other poets
Views on the state of poetry in Lesotho: “We are getting there slowly but surely, especially with more poets coming out!”
Places where she has performed: HIV/AIDS poetry session at the Good Times café in 2007; Botswana in mid-2008 (where different poets from Africa had come together to share their art) ; has been to the Poetry Corner on the Ultimate F.M.; and recently at 2008 HIV/AIDS poetry session that was held at Maseru Club bowling ground and other places.
Message to young aspiring poets: God didn’t give the talents we have for nothing; hence we need to utilize them as poetry is a very wonderful form of art.
God bless!
Malichaba 'Churbby' Mbeka
Simple and to the point Churbby real name ‘Malichaba Mbeka has been making her way through the local poetry sphere tremendously. For her poetry is quite useless if it is never understood. For those who like simplicity and rhyming in poetry all given out in a sweet voice then Churbby is one of the female poets you should be listening to. Join Poets Blog as it finds more about this simple beautiful gifted poet
Q: Please tell us about yourself and who Churbby is in poetry.
A: well am actually a very talkative individual, I am in too many things drawing, poetry you name them all. In poetry I am just a simply poet, I try to write in a way that is readily accessible to the people because I strongly believe that poetry that is not understood is somewhat useless.
Q: When did you start writing poetry and why poetry out of all art forms?
A: Well to start with I could not do emceeing because I cannot speak English fast; hence I had problems with the delivery of lyrics in hip hop so I went for poetry which is much cheaper. I started poetry a while back while I was in primary school, it was part of our English syllabus but I guess I grew up with it till now.
Q: What do you by poetry is ‘much cheaper’?
A: I meant poetry is just diverse; you can approach it in many different ways and still be accepted as a poet. I believe that even a short story can be a poem or even a song this is why I sometimes resides songs because I believe they can be poetic at times.
Q: Who are your top three local poets and your top three international poets?
A: Locally it has to be Lineo Kolobe, Lineo Segoete, Lerato Brown and Sechaba Keketsi commonly known as Lyrical Bacteria. Internationally I like Tumi, Lebogang Mashile and Kgafela Magogodi.
Q: How can one recognize your poetry?
A: Well written down my poetry is replete with rhymes, I always use rhymes in my poems the same goes for when I am on stage although I try employ different rhythms when on stage.
Q: Where has Churbby performed thus far if at all she has performed?
A: Oh yes I have performed live, the first performance was at A. M.E. hall at a poetry session that was organized by the then Miss PC fm in June 2007, then I decided to go on radio at the Ultimate fm on Miss P ‘s poetry corner, at a pre- independence poetry session that was organized by Ma –lord ‘Ice ‘ ‘Mefane in 2007,at the Worlds AIDS DAY poetry session that was also organized by Ice also in 2007, at the pre World AIDS day poetry session at Maseru club bowling ground and my last performance was Times café at the Redds ladies night.
Q: What do you think about the standard of poetry in the country?
A: Well with no doubt poetry is growing because I have seen a lot of underground poets coming out to share what they have with the people. I mean the country’s biggest poetry group; Poetry Farm is growing massively holding successful shows repeatedly and it is now on the internet, Miss P is also about to start a poetry club so that’s how big poetry is growing.
Q: Your last words to your fellow poets?
A: Do what you do, do not try and imitate anyone. Work on improving your craft because eventually an individual poets’ growth results in growth for the entire local poetry sphere.
Q: Please tell us about yourself and who Churbby is in poetry.
A: well am actually a very talkative individual, I am in too many things drawing, poetry you name them all. In poetry I am just a simply poet, I try to write in a way that is readily accessible to the people because I strongly believe that poetry that is not understood is somewhat useless.
Q: When did you start writing poetry and why poetry out of all art forms?
A: Well to start with I could not do emceeing because I cannot speak English fast; hence I had problems with the delivery of lyrics in hip hop so I went for poetry which is much cheaper. I started poetry a while back while I was in primary school, it was part of our English syllabus but I guess I grew up with it till now.
Q: What do you by poetry is ‘much cheaper’?
A: I meant poetry is just diverse; you can approach it in many different ways and still be accepted as a poet. I believe that even a short story can be a poem or even a song this is why I sometimes resides songs because I believe they can be poetic at times.
Q: Who are your top three local poets and your top three international poets?
A: Locally it has to be Lineo Kolobe, Lineo Segoete, Lerato Brown and Sechaba Keketsi commonly known as Lyrical Bacteria. Internationally I like Tumi, Lebogang Mashile and Kgafela Magogodi.
Q: How can one recognize your poetry?
A: Well written down my poetry is replete with rhymes, I always use rhymes in my poems the same goes for when I am on stage although I try employ different rhythms when on stage.
Q: Where has Churbby performed thus far if at all she has performed?
A: Oh yes I have performed live, the first performance was at A. M.E. hall at a poetry session that was organized by the then Miss PC fm in June 2007, then I decided to go on radio at the Ultimate fm on Miss P ‘s poetry corner, at a pre- independence poetry session that was organized by Ma –lord ‘Ice ‘ ‘Mefane in 2007,at the Worlds AIDS DAY poetry session that was also organized by Ice also in 2007, at the pre World AIDS day poetry session at Maseru club bowling ground and my last performance was Times café at the Redds ladies night.
Q: What do you think about the standard of poetry in the country?
A: Well with no doubt poetry is growing because I have seen a lot of underground poets coming out to share what they have with the people. I mean the country’s biggest poetry group; Poetry Farm is growing massively holding successful shows repeatedly and it is now on the internet, Miss P is also about to start a poetry club so that’s how big poetry is growing.
Q: Your last words to your fellow poets?
A: Do what you do, do not try and imitate anyone. Work on improving your craft because eventually an individual poets’ growth results in growth for the entire local poetry sphere.
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