The Poet And The Collection: Hullo, Bu-Bye. Koko, Come In.
Updated: Nov 29, 2021
“In these poems
ladies/females
Are also referred to as genitalia
In these poems
gender is assigned
even when it is not necessary
In these poems
we are rocks
ornaments to be preserved
objects to be observed
politics to be babysat”
-Koleka Putuma
The Poet:
Koleka Putuma: Poet, Author, Theatre Maker.
Koleka Putuma, is an award-winning theatre practitioner, writer and poet.
Her bestselling debut collection of poems Collective Amnesia took the South African literary scene by storm. Since its publication in April 2017, the book is in its 12th print run and is prescribed for study at tertiary level in South African Universities and Gothenburg University in Sweden. Koleka has taken South African stories and turned them into beautiful poetry in her second book installment; Hullo, Bu-Bye. Koko, Come In.
She’s an author of many accolades including being a Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Honouree, she’s spreading South African stories all over the world through her poems.
Her recent travels were in countries such as Madrid and Vienna sharing her work with the world. After her travels she finally touched down in South Africa to do her first show which was on the 6th of November in the great city of Johannesburg.
The Collection:
Hullo, Bu-Bye. Koko, Come-In.
Hullo, Bu-Bye. KoKo, Come In -- touches on issues surrounding not just South Africa but African writers as a whole. The book dives into the ordinary and the new but even issues that have since been forgotten. It touches on past trials fought in this country by the people of this country. She reminds us of the out pours of Brenda Fassie in the 20th century and the tears still cried by women in South Africa in the 21st century.
But we, we have come to be baptized here
We have come to stir the other world here
We have come to cleanse ourselves here
We have come to connect our living to the dead here
Our respect for water is what you have termed fear
The audacity to trade and murder us over water
Then mock us for being scared of it
The audacity to arrive by water and invade us
If this land was really yours, then resurrect the bones of the colonizers and use them as a compass
A book I myself couldn’t put down, a book that presents to you poetry that can be translated in many ways and a book that reminds you of home, a home known to us as South Africa. Hullo, Koko. Bu-Bye, Come In -- welcomes you into the issues we face daily and yet still reminding us of the beauty we posses.
Get your copy for the price R150 at any CNA stores nationwide.
Love - Passion - Ubuntu - Poetry.