A contingent of poets from around the world descended on the Vhembe district last Saturday, where they shared the spoken word.

Poets who attended the What's Poetry Festival II came from Russia, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, China, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and South Africa. During the tour, the poets' first stopover in Vhembe was at Mbhokota village, where they visited the house of the late, highly talented sculptor Jackson Hlungwani and the John Baloyi Art Gallery.

Festival director Indra Wussow said that the festival focused on the idea of language for the individual, nation building and international understanding. “Without a widespread network of generous partners and supporters, projects like ours wouldn't exist,” Wussow said.

A poet, scriptwriter and actress based in South Africa and Botswana, Mbali Bloom Kgosidintsi, spent some time talking with the little ones at the Timbila Writers Village in Shirley, Elim. “I am touched by the humility of the people around here for inviting us into a rich landscape,” Mbali spoke. “Their commitment to art is amazing; even Mr Hlungwani's daughter welcomed us warmly.”

According to Timbila Writers Village's director, Vonani Bila, the village will house writers, poets and researchers while they are working on their projects. “We hope to open the project soon,” Bila said.

In the evening, the group of poets met pupils and educators at Ridgeway College. During the event, the poets read and recited poetry.

Former university lecturer Kgafela oa Magogodi, who became controversial for lambasting the current government for their lack of service delivery through his poetry, strummed the guitar as he recited his classic poem, I Mike What I Like. “Palamenteng phodi e tswere tender (At the parliament the goat had hogged tenders),” he echoed.

Earliar in the day, Oa Magogodi had answered the "what is poetry?" question during an interview with Limpopo Mirror, where he stated that poetry is a musical form with a sonic landscape.

Ridgeway College's secretary, Ms Lynn Biggs, said the school had enjoyed the experience of listening to poetry in different languages and they never felt any language barriers. “The honour of having a group of international poets coming to Ridgeway College and sharing with us their passion for poetry is all that will stay in our hearts for a very long time,” Biggs said. “We hope that this experience has made a lasting impression on our students and encourages them to take up poetry.”

The Zimbabwean poet Chirikure Chirikure recited a poem in Shona, with a sombre tone. “The poem says that 'we've been watching you reasoning for too long,'” he explained.

The entourage proceeded to Zimbabwe on Monday.