✅   Young Francophone Africans pack out poetry slams as region's woes pile up

Arts

Resurgence of poetry culture among west African youth amid political instability, economic insecurity and jihadist threatClutching a microphone in one hand and pointing at the audience with the other, the Burkinabé poet and DJ Otemptic reeled about jihadism and women’s resilience in a patriarchal society to an audience of about 200 people at a slam at a venue in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.“I would like to talk to you about my pain … terrorists of all colours,” recited Otemptic, who was accompanied on the stage by a guitarist, keyboardist and drummer. “Authors of barbarism, those who stop the development of my proud homeland.” ...

The Guardian     Dec 10, 2024