Times Of Swaziland: ‘NO ISOLATION FOR EPIC POETRY’

‘NO ISOLATION FOR EPIC POETRY’
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Phumelele Mkhonta on 26/03/2020 08:23:00


MBABANE - Relentless!
With events being postponed and/or cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic, entertainers and facilitators have been feeling at a great loss and
discouraged, but not the relentless spoken word poet – Senetisiwe Ginindza. On
March 20, just three days after the declaration of a national emergency, the
poetress based in the rural area of Zandondo, announced undertaking a ‘Virtual
Tour,’ where she will be reciting poetry for her fans, in the comfort of her
home, broadcasting live on social platforms. “March was my most booked month,
and I was having the time of my life being on stage that frequently. When the
COVID-19 pandemic was realized more seriously and events were being postponed, I
was underwhelmed but I knew I had to come up with a solution for myself
immediately,” said Ginindza. Under the title ‘Lonely Nights Virtual Tour’,
Ginindza takes advantage of the digital social media platforms - Twitter,
Instagram and Facebook, to express herself and entertain her audience, despite
the universal feeling of duress.
Tour
Her tour kicked off with her reciting a selection of poetry pieces from her
room, on Twitter live on March 21, commemorating International Poetry day. This
proved difficult to watch as she faced a lot of technical difficulties.
“Realistically, I was prepared for the first livestream attempt to be a
learning experience, but I did not anticipate many challenges I encountered. My
phone overheated so my Twitter app abruptly closed and I had to restart the
livestream. “The network was also acting up, so I had to restart our Wi-Fi
router a couple of times. I got so anxious to the point of sweating because I
was so concerned about my viewers not having the smooth virtual experience I
meant to deliver.”
Adamant to deliver anything less than she had planned to, Ginindza patiently
attempted to go live on Twitter multiple times and recited the rest of the
anthology of poems she had prepared, even when she no longer had any viewers
watching. “I obviously wish people saw it but I cannot stress enough how proud
I am of myself. When I reminisce that performance, I know I gave it my best
shot, so I am content, (ngenetisiwe),” she said.