CRESTA a poetry magazine
ISSUE
02 JUNE 2022
POET OF THE MONTH
ZAMAZWIDE LONDIWE NXUMALO
”Poetry to me means emotion”
CRESTA MAGAZINE
CONTENT POET OF THE MONTH
This month, we look at Zamazwide Londiwe Nxumalo.
POEM OF THE MONTH
Our Poem of the month is Inner Me. A self reflective piece by Sisipho Gubevu. Sean Fraser
POETRY COLLECTION
We close the month, with Prmary Poems, a collection by Joelle Bahdo.
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crestamagazine@gmail.com 02
JUNE 2022, ISSUE 2
POET OF THE MONTH Zamazwide Londiwe Nxumalo (22) is a South African poet who writes with the intentions of telling stories that teach the imperativeness of understanding your own emotions. What does poetry mean to you?
“Poetry to me means emotion. In the sense that I am able to feel every single emotion from poetry. To me it means I get to tell a story that speaks to your soul and taps into a memory you may have long forgotten. Poetry to me means just that.” If you can remember, tell us about the first ever poem you’ve ever written.
“The first poem I've ever written was named "I watched myself fall in love with you". Funny enough it's a poem I've never released. I was always into story telling and when I watched a short love series that my poet friend made. It woke up the urge to write about the kind of love I believe in. I keep it dear and close for a special day.”
POEM OF THE MONTH INNER ME BY SISIPHO GUBEVU
“I wrote this one when I was too afraid to stand out because I cared too much about what other people thought about me and so I had these constant fights with myself so I wrote.” The structuring of this piece as a free verse taps into the vulnerability of the poet, who through this technique, boldly undresses herself from worldly expectations. These words were put together to directly confront the doubts that come with publicly dancing in your uniqueness. In the midst of the poet’s directness, she poses the following question “Who is the Inner Me?”
POETRY COLLECTION
PRIMARY POEMS By Joelle Bahdo AVAILABLE ON
linktr.ee/jobahdo
“Primary Poems touches on themes such as the fear of being vulnerable, hopeless and young romanticism, domestic violence, abandonment trauma and more intricate topics entangled with the absence of love. The collection is written in a way that every single piece can be read on its own and at the same time each piece is a chapter of a story that unfolds when read from cover to cover. Putting together this collection I felt rushed, excited, scared. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to share so much of myself to the world and at the same time I really needed to let my words out there. To publish meant to let go of a whole piece of me that I could not carry anymore.”