Next Generation Speaks Master Class Lesego Rampolokeng

WORD N SOUND : Next Generation Speaks Word N Sound Poetry Live Literature Movement is a project of the African Youth Literature Institute, a creative & academic social enterprise that is passionate about young people & literature on the African continent. LANGUAGE IS HERITAGE MASTERCLASS Delivered by Mr Lesego Rampolokeng, the master class will focus on the importance of black South African literature and the role of young writers today. Lesego Rampolokeng is a poet and performance maestro, and the author of 12 books. He has collaborated with visual artists, playwrights, film-makers, theatre and opera producers, poets and musicians. His no-holds-barred style, radical political-aesthetic perspective and instantly recognisable voice have brought him a unique place in South African literature. Since his debut Horns for Hondo (1990), he has released several pioneering collections of poetry including Talking Rain (1993), The Bavino Sermons (1999), The second chapter (2003/5), and Head on Fire (2012). His most recent collection, A Half Century Thing (2015) won the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences Award 2017 for “Best Fiction: Single Authored Volume.” He is the author of three novels, the most recent of which, Bird-Monk Seding (2017), presents a starkpicture of life in a rural township two decades into South Africa’s democracy and reinvokes the visions of pantheon of jazz innovators and radical writers. Rampolokeng has also written two plays and has written screenplays and released several audio recordings. His documentary film Word Down the Line debuted in 2014. He is currently completing a major study of the life and work of black consciousness poet and activist Mafika Pascal Gwala.