Poetry in South Africa: Towards a Language of Aesthetic Response

This article has two interrelated aims: first, to offer readers a critical survey of poetry production in South Africa over the last 30 years, the 30-year period being preceded by a consideration of key markers in the poetry of the 1970s and 1980s; second, to engage in debates on distinctions between the poetry of the high mimetic and the low mimetic; on poetry of the page and the stage; and on women’s poetry and the womanist poem. With consideration of women’s poetry having raised debates among US-based poet-critics on Lyric/L.A.N.G.U.A.G.E. Poetics, the overarching objective is to pursue a language of criticism that is responsive to the aesthetic range and variety of poetry in South Africa.