It gives us great joy to invite you to the launch of Kerry Hammerton’s fourth poetry collection, afterwards. She will be in conversation with Finuala Dowling. A poetic event not to be missed!
Karavan Press title: The Frightened by Lethokuhle Msimang
In this lyrical, fragmented novella, Lethokuhle Msimang uses autobiographical and poetic interventions to lead the reader through landscapes of loss and longing, travelling between France, China, Spain and South Africa, to explore the troubled terrain of leaving and finding home. At once exhilarating, heart-breaking and haunting, The Frightened speaks to the complexity of relationships, the pain of love, the effects of trauma, the necessity and constant work of healing, and the unfulfillable wish to feel a true sense of belonging. It is the story of finding one’s voice amidst inherited violence, and the importance of art and creativity in that process.
Publication date: April 2023
ISBN: 978-0-6397-7484-8
LETHOKUHLE MSIMANG was born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. She graduated with a BA in Literary Studies and Creative Arts from the American University of Paris and an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University. Her poems have appeared in New Coin, Grocott’s Mail, Hanging Loose, The Paris/Atlantic and Stanzas, amongst others. She is the author of, Hubris, a collection of poems. The Frightened is her first novella.
Author: Lethokuhle Msimang
LETHOKUHLE MSIMANG was born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. She graduated with a BA in Literary Studies and Creative Arts from the American University of Paris and an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University. Her poems have appeared in New Coin, Grocott’s Mail, Hanging Loose, The Paris/Atlantic and Stanzas, amongst others. She is the author of, Hubris, a collection of poems. The Frightened is her first novella.
Karavan Press title: afterwards by Kerry Hammerton
“afterwards is a thrilling collection that takes us in a series of lyrical bounds from the poet’s ancestry in Wales to her birth in England to the country and spirit animals she inhabits now. An exhilarating read.”
– Finuala Dowling
“In these provocative poems Kerry Hammerton probes with a ruthless acuity how society constructs and represents self and women. Her poems also explore the lived-in-ness of the body with its desires, its beauty and even its joys. Ranging from lyrical poetry to flash-fiction this experimental collection is richly satisfying.”
– Kobus Moolman
Publication date: April 2023
ISBN: 978-0-6397-2219-1
KERRY HAMMERTON lives in Cape Town, South Arica and has an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University. She has published poetry and prose in various South African and international literary journals and anthologies – including Living While Feminist (Kwela Books, 2020) and The Only Magic We Know (Modjaji Books, 2020). afterwards is Kerry’s fourth poetry collection. Kerry is a freelance tutor and supervisor on the Rhodes’ Masters in Creative Writing programme.
Find her at www.kerryhammerton.com.
Author: Kerry Hammerton
KERRY HAMMERTON lives in Cape Town, South Arica and has an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University. She has published poetry and prose in various South African and international literary journals and anthologies – including Living While Feminist (Kwela Books, 2020) and The Only Magic We Know (Modjaji Books, 2020). afterwards is Kerry’s fourth poetry collection. Kerry is a freelance tutor and supervisor on the Rhodes’ Masters in Creative Writing programme.
Find her at www.kerryhammerton.com.
Karavan Press title: A Crowded Lonely Walk by Sipho Banda
Life has taken a half-step forward, leaning against the history of my past
“This poetry collection depicts true stories of ordinary black people living in the supposedly ‘New South Africa’. Banda’s poems portray stains of colonisation even on the postcolonial times.”
– Kwazi Ndlangisa, winner of The Book Behind Award 2021 and the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award 2021, and author of Collecting Self
“Sipho Banda’s poetry witnesses a variety of occluded and overlooked lives, often foregrounding rural existences and the precarious life of farm dwellers. He is able to describe and critique socio-political realities through poetry that is layered with gentle irony and laced with images which grip and map the reader’s awareness of the custodian.”
– Kyle Allan, editor of New Coin and author of House Without Walls and The Space Between Us
Publication date: March 2023
ISBN: 978-1-7764064-4-9
SIPHO BANDA was born in Himeville and grew up in Impendle, KwaZulu Natal. He is the author of Vusi’s Visit to Drakensberg Mountain, a children’s book published by Msinsi Press. His first collection of poetry, Ngigabe Ngezakithi, and a drama book, Umoya Wamagagasi, were published in isiZulu by Pelmo Publishers. Most of his poems in A Crowded Lonely Walk, his debut collection in English, reflect his own lonely and crowded walk.
Author: Sipho Banda
SIPHO BANDA was born in Himeville and grew up in Impendle, KwaZulu Natal. He is the author of Vusi’s Visit to Drakensberg Mountain, a children’s book published by Msinsi Press. His first collection of poetry, Ngigabe Ngezakithi, and a drama book, Umoya Wamagagasi, were published in isiZulu by Pelmo Publishers. Most of his poems in A Crowded Lonely Walk, his debut collection in English published by Karavan Press, reflect his own lonely and crowded walk.
karavanpress.com 