Everyone is bound to experience stress in their daily lives in today’s fast paced world, but there is a difference in how each individual handles the pressures of life.
Some people opt to unwind by going to the gym or listening to soothing music. In the case of DUT’s Marí Peté, an e-Learning specialist from the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), she writes poetry. Since the age of 19 when Peté’s poems were first published in a literary journal, writing poetry has, for her, always been a way to live in a meaningful way.
Peté’s latest collection is dedicated to her only child, Megan. Entitled: Step through and published by Leopard Press, the book will be launched at the DUT Art Gallery, Allan Pittendrigh Library, on Saturday, 20 February 2016 at 7pm.
The title poem, called “Step through”, is one she wrote about dealing with Megan (now in Matric) going to boarding school in grade eight and how the poet coped with the so-called empty nest syndrome.
The title of the book gives an insight into what her poems are about — ordinary moments and transitional experiences — teaching with new technologies and feeling its impact on the body, soul and psyche; travelling; being married for 25 years; losing loved ones to death; being in a relationship with the Divine; and experiencing the “empty nest”.
The poems are rooted in local places such as Durban’s Warwick Junction marketplace; Drakensberg Mountains; Cradle of Humankind; Robberg and as far abroad as Hyde Park and Dumfries, a village in Scotland.
As far as conceptualisation and writing times goes, Peté said some poems grow over time, while there are rare occasions where a poem is completed in a day. “I take the discipline of crafting seriously, but you have to know the line between reworking a poem and over crafting it. You have to listen closely and know when to stop. There is actually a poem about that in my second collection Amytis entitled ‘Writer’s block, Florence’,” she said.
For Peté, poetry is the best way to express her thoughts, rather than genres like novels or biographies. “Through form, imagery, musicality and metaphor (amongst other devices), poetry strives for universality – to touch hearts, to ring true for different readers, in different ways,” she said.
Step through contains sketches by Dina Cormick, who is a well-known Durban artist. A collection of Cormick’s work form part of the DUT Art Gallery’s permanent collection. Cormick has a lifetime record of commissioned artworks, including wood sculptures, mosaics, book illustrations and posters; most notably in the South African Constitutional Court
The majority of the 52 poems in Step through were originally written in English, and a handful in Afrikaans, which were translated into English by Karin Schimke, an esteemed Cape Town poet who writes in English and Afrikaans. Karin was awarded the Ingrid Jonker Award in 2014 and her poetry has been widely published.
Peté listed two of her favourite poems by other writers: “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver and “Poet Becoming” by Antjie Krog. To Peté, writing is a reflex, a compulsion and a survival strategy. Her first poem for the next collection has already been written.
Her advice to budding poets is to read a lot of others’ poetry, learn from it and learn it off by heart. “Poetry is a spiritual endeavour. Share it,” she said.
The book will be on sale at the event for R150. For more information on the book, go to Amazon.com.
– Waheeda Peters
Pictured: Mari and Megan Peté, the inspiration behind her third book of poems.
