Love and homophobia in Malawi's spoken-word poetry movement
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2103659 |
|---|---|
| Authors | H Englund (0000-0001-6063-4986, University of Chicago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 91 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 361-387 |
| Publication date | 2021-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-9720 • E-ISSN: 1750-0184 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0001972021000255 |
| OpenAlex | W3159685211 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 13 |
By the early 2010s, a number of Malawian poets in their twenties had begun to substitute the elliptical expression of earlier generations with a language that resonated with popular idioms. As poetry directed at 'the people', its medium is spoken word rather than print, performed to live audiences and distributed through CDs, radio programmes and the internet. Crafted predominantly in Chichewa, the poems also address topics of popular interest. The selection of poetry presented here comes from a female and a male poet, who, unbeknown to each other, prepared poems sharply critical of homosexuality and what they regarded as its foreign and local advocacy. The same poets have also gained success for their love poems, which have depicted intimate desires in remarkably compatible ways for both women and men. The poets who performed 'homophobic' verse went against popular gender stereotypes in their depictions of romantic love and female and male desires. This introductory essay, as a contribution toAfrica's Local Intellectuals series, discusses the aesthetic challenges that the new poets have launched in the context of Malawi's modern poetry. With regard to gender relations in their love poems, the introduction also considers the poets' possible countercultural contribution despite their avowed commitment to perform for 'the people
Art · Context (archaeology · Homosexuality · Literature · Poetry · Romance · Sociology · Spoken word · African history and culture studies · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Gender Studies · History
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Politicizing Sex in Contemporary Africa
Prisoners of Freedom
LGBT Rights in Malawi
Cooking Data Culture and Politics in an African Research World
Sexual minorities, human rights and public health strategies in Africa
Aid for gays
L'émergence n'aime pas les femmes ! » Hétérosexisme, rumeurs et imaginaires du pouvoir dans le rap gabonais
Underlayers of Citizenship
The Problem with Freedom
Ethnic associations and politics in contemporary Malawi
Anusocratie? Freemasonry, sexual transgression and illicit enrichment in postcolonial Africa
The Origins of Senegalese Homophobia
| Citations per year | 0.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2022 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |