DiverCity returns to Lilongwe
Four years ago, poetry lovers in Lilongwe were used to The Pillow Talk, a Sunday afternoon poetry and story-telling show.
Unfortunately, the do died a natural death in 2012. Worrisome was the demise, not only for literary enthusiasts, but also the writers and poets.
In 2013, some of the brains behind The Pillow Talk, including Q Malewezi, teamed up to form the present day Living Room Poetry Club (LRPC), which comes to life every Wednesday for poetry sessions.
LRPC engendered DiverCity—a play on the words diversity and city—showcasing the diverse poetic voices within its membership.
The first DiverCity took place in December 2013 followed by a second edition in April, the following year. After over one year of silence, the event is back on December 17 at the Champions Bar Lounge.
According to one of DiverCity 3 organising members, Maclean Mbepula, the event is back, bigger and better.
“DiverCity 3 is a celebration of some of Malawi’s crème-de-la-crème of spoken word and poetry. People should note the event is great value for one evening’s worth. They should come and enjoy a mixture of poetic talent such as Q and the many others.
She said: “Apart from prose and verses, people should expect overall, an adventure through word. We hope that our art will provoke thought, emotion, debate, and hopefully, even interest in change or progress as a society. People should just come and spoil themselves with some of the best in spoken word poetry this side of the equator.”
The two series of DiverCity events attracted positive feedback, such that it is worth questioning why it took the group over a year to bounce back.
“We wanted to do this earlier, but various factors affected our execution. However, we are all working hard to present polished, quality performances this Saturday,” explained Mbepula.
DiverCity 3 will feature approximately 14 poets, including Q, Alex Chiwaya, Chris Msosa, Yolanda Kaluma, Sharmilla Elias, George Kalukusha, Atusaye Kamwambi as well as Mbepula herself.
Tickets are on sale now at Koko Bean, m-Hub, Living room , Ad Lib and from committee members.
