Thursday, November 10, 2011

My Growth Through Sessions

From Dr. J.L Dube High School Hall to Lacoste Lounge. Brand new venue, same old session. Having been part of such an interesting bunch of people with consistance has yield such tasteful fruits. Though the journey wasn't easy, but it would be lying to claim it was tough. With determination alone. I managed to reach "this far."

Having started writing poems in July 2009. It is quite deficult to believe I have grown this "size," not just a poet but an artist as a whole. My first sessions weren't so good. I had to spend about two hours every Saturday at a poetry session saturated with strangers that keep changing faces week in and week out. There was never a week that passed by without me seeing a new face in a session, which made the job of adapting amongst the fellow poets such a deficult one. Weeks use to pass by, and just when I think I've met everyone, the face of a so called veterean will pop up. The assignments of claiming the complete acceptance couldn't reach an end, from January 2010 to January 2011.

It's was up until the day I started to visit this friend of mine called Pholani that I started to understand the principles of Kushobani Arts Organisation. He will bombard me with lots of information each time I pay him a visit concerning Kushobani Organisation and Poetry industry as a whole. What he didn't know is that I wasn't so much interested in that. I wanted to uncover the reasons behind his survival as a poet in the industry. Of which I did discover. I would have like to share much about his survival, but just to mention the few things that contributed on it. I can confidently say that his friendly approach towards complete strangers and the ability to read and understand peoples' behavior were the major contributors.

Most of the things I learned from Pholani, I applied when I first attended the Keen Artist Theatre Open Mics at the Asoka Theatre at UKZN Westville Campus in the 1st semester of 2010. When I officially became KAT member in July 2010, alongside with my friend Juba, who later on join me at KAO, Adapting into the vibrant atmosphere of artists and enjoying myself was a walk in the park.

Durban poetry sessions has been a blessing to me. These include the Pour A Tree Society, Horwad College Poetry Session and all the others I've attended. Looking at myself hosting Peers Sundae Poetry & Hip Hop Show is such an emotional experiance when I look back where I'm coming from. I'm a breathing evidence that the journey of 1000Miles beginning with a single step. It's doesn't stop here, this is only the beginning. For you; It's never too late to set another goal, or dream a new dream.