Try GOLD - Free
'A channel' Poets speak out in Africa slam revival
The Guardian
|December 11, 2024
Clutching a microphone in one hand and pointing at the audience with the other, the Burkinabe poet and DJ Otemptic reeled about jihadism and women's resilience in a patriarchal society to about 200 people at a slam at a venue in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
"I would like to talk to you about my pain... terrorists of all colours," recited Otemptic, who was accompanied on the stage by a guitarist, keyboardist and drummer. "Authors of barbarism, those who stop the development of my proud homeland."
Otemptic, born Kabre Adjaratou in Yamoussoukro, the Ivorian capital, is based in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. As she performed, poets from the host nation and other Francophone countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Algeria huddled at the side of the stage, snapping their fingers intermittently in support.
This story is from the December 11, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The Guardian
The Guardian
Heroic foodstuffs star in bonkers sort-of opera
Spare a thought for Amy J Payne, the gutsy mezzo-soprano who plays the title role in Opera North’s Pass the Spoon.
2 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
At least 16 dead in terror attack on Jewish festival
Australia's prime minister condemned \"an act of evil antisemitism\" yesterday after gunmen opened fire on a Jewish festival at Sydney's Bondi beach, killing at least 16 people, including a child, and injuring dozens more.
3 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
'It was a massacre'
Witnesses describe the horror - and the bravery
3 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
Woltemade's bizarre own goal gifts Sunderland win
Eddie Howe is not the first, and is unlikely to be the last, manager outwitted by Régis Le Bris this season but few are likely to find the experience quite as painful.
3 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
'It will not define us'
Howe rues 'freak' goal but vows to discard derby loss
1 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
Comcast Proposed ITV takeover would have effect on public service broadcasting
The prospect of Comcast taking over ITV has prompted concerns about the impact on British public service broadcasting, a fact that Channel 4's new chief executive, moving from a senior post at Sky, will be all too aware of.
4 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
Belarusian street protest leader freed from jail says: 'I don't regret anything'
The Belarusian street protest leader Maria Kolesnikova, who was freed at the weekend along with 122 other prisoners after more than five years in jail, has said she has no regrets about her role in the opposition against the autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko.
3 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
McCullum keeps faith in batting lineup with jobs on line
The seriesis on the line and, inalllike-lihood, jobs with it.
3 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
Unpaid fees leave Ghanaian students at risk of deportation
Students from Ghana at UK universities say they are at risk of deportation after being stranded by their own government without promised scholarships or tuition fee payments.
1 mins
December 15, 2025
The Guardian
Dressed up like a dog winner: dachshunds do festive walkies
The pitter-patter of tiny paws brought joy - and more than a little chaos - to Hyde Park in London as hundreds of dachshunds and their owners gathered for the annual sausage dog Christmas walk yesterday.
1 mins
December 15, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size