South African non-profit organisation Hear My Voice, in partnership with Swedish organisation Göteborgs Litteraturhus (Gothenburg House of Literature), has invited Sara Garib for a two-week writing residency taking place in South Africa between 10 and 24 March 2022.
Poet Sara Garib, also a speech and language pathologist, will be provided with an all-expenses-paid trip to South Africa to perform, share work, engage in conversations, facilitate workshops and develop work relating to the impact of writing, poetry and cross-cultural exchanges. The residency takes place in Tshwane and Johannesburg.
“I’m beyond excited for this opportunity to take Swedish poetry to South Africa. I hope to interchange my love for writing with people outside of Sweden. I do not doubt that this trip will bring inspiration to both me and my pen.” Says Garib.
Garib began her career as a spoken word poet, competing in slams since 2018 at the ("Orten's bästa poet"). After her debut novel, which was awarded first prize at a competition in a local library, she performed on a great variety of stages in front of diverse crowds.
In 2019 she wrote a poem ("Hannah Montana") for a competition in a Swedish newspaper and won the first prize. The same poem eventually was used in two different exhibitions, one of them being at the city museum. This was a very proud moment in her career, for she was able to share a story about in-between-ship and give a third-culture perspective, which is rarely spoken about in Sweden. She was frequently invited to poetry workshops at libraries and high schools in the years that followed. In 2020 she self-published her first collection of poems. In the last year, she has been holding author talks, facilitating workshops, performing, and writing.
"It is projects such as this that brings our governments treaties or MOUs to life to make a direct impact in individuals/organizations in industries. We are happy to host an incredible writer with such a quest for township exploration, be it in Sweden or South Africa." Says Hear My Voice co-founder and managing Director MoAfrika Wa Mokgathi
This residency is made possible through part funding from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the Swedish Arts Council.
For any questions relating to the residency, please contact: MoAfrika Wa Mokgathi: moafrika@hearmyvoice.co.za or Sofia Gräsberg: sofia.grasberg@goteborgslitteraturhus.se
About Hear My Voice
Hear My Voice is a non-profit organisation based in Tshwane, South Africa. Their focus is developing spoken word artists and creating open and uncensored platforms for self-expression through spoken word poetry. The organisation achieve this through organising local and international exchange programs, workshops, live spoken word shows, open mics and other literature programs for schools, private companies, government, libraries, festivals and other cultural institutions.
About Göteborgs Litteraturhus (Gothenburg House of Literature)
Göteborgs Litteraturhus is an organisation as well as a public space. It is a self-organised framework with over 60 members of literary organisations and groups; publishers, literary magazines, creative writing communities, festivals, Swedish writers' union and Swedish Pen, groups of cultural activists and students. Göteborgs Litteraturhus presents a broad public programme of literary and social activities and engages in a wide range of different collaborations on a local, regional and international level. To Göteborgs Litteraturhus, the definition of literature – how it can look, sound, work and what it can do – is emphasised as an open question.