Swedish poet Sara Garib is headed to South Africa for a two-week writing residency.
The residency is set to take place in Joburg and Tshwane from March 10 till March 24.
“I’m beyond excited for this opportunity to take Swedish poetry to South Africa. I hope to interchange my love for writing with people outside of Sweden. I do not doubt that this trip will bring inspiration to both me and my pen,” says Garib.
Garib’s invitation forms part of a collaborative effort between South African non-profit organisation Hear My Voice and Swedish group Göteborgs Litteraturhus (Gothenburg House of Literature).
Garib, also a speech and language pathologist, will be provided with an all-expenses-paid trip to South Africa to perform, share work, engage in conversations, facilitate workshops and develop work relating to the impact of writing, poetry and cross-cultural exchanges.
She started her career as a spoken word poet, competing in slams since 2018 at the Orten's bästa poet.
After her debut novel, which was awarded first prizes in a competition at a local library, she performed on a great variety of stages in front of diverse crowds.
In 2019 she wrote a poem (Hannah Montana) for a competition in a Swedish newspaper and won the first prize. The same poem eventually was used in two different exhibitions, one of them being at the city museum.
This was a very proud moment in her career, for she was able to share a story about in-between-ship and give a third-culture perspective, which is rarely spoken about in Sweden.
She was frequently invited to poetry workshops at libraries and high schools in the years that followed.
In 2020 she self-published her first collection of poems. In the last year, she has been holding author talks, facilitating workshops, performing, and writing.
'"We are happy to host an incredible writer with such a quest for township exploration, be it in Sweden or South Africa,” comments Hear My Voice co-founder and managing director, MoAfrika wa Mokgathi.
This residency is made possible through part funding from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the Swedish Arts Council.