ramblings - do what you need to do

It is that time of the year when we re-look at everything we are doing and start asking the hard questions. Somehow the change in calendar year always seems to bring renewed energy coupled with a bit of doubt. We tend to second-guess the choices we have made and re-think the choices we hope to make. It is easy to get so caught up in the thinking process that we end up not doing anything.

I believe that most important part of this 'building a life' thing is to determine your end destination. What it is you are working towards. Once you know that, it becomes easier to determine the path to take in reaching that point. What do you consider your purpose? Where do you see yourself in 10, 20, 30 years? Life is filled with abundant opportunity, but it doesn't always mean you should take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.

The best way to establish what to pursue is to let your ultimate goal be the lens that you view the world with. Each thing you do should, directly or indirectly, help build towards that final resting place. It then makes it easier to also deal with obstacles and challenges that may arise. If you know why you are doing something, you become a lot more open and tolerant to stuff. At the same time, know when to let go, when something has run its full course and no longer contributes in any way to the 'master plan'.

Just a thought.

ramblings - that time again

It's that time of the year again - the beginning. And every year, I, as well as countless others, share thoughts on how to deal with each year, or at least, what we should be thinking about this time of the year.

Every year, I spend the end in introspection and the beginning in planning. I lay out what I need to accomplish and review it at the end. My level of success? I can't honestly say it is high. My next collection of poetry is still in the making - it's been top of the list for two years now. At the same time, I do feel I have accomplished quite a bit, that wasn't on the list. How often do we take for granted what we have achieved, always looking for the 'big' moments when all the 'small' ones add up to more?

This year I've decided to take a different approach. We can't plan everything and, sometimes, our rigid plans make us feel even worse coz, the minute they veer off course, we are thrown into confusion. So, for 2008, I say, make plans but go with the flow. Make things come but focus on being fluid and flexible so you can change direction without too much pain.

Just a thought

ramblings - random rantings

I've been doing a lot of reading on the impact on this collaborative, information, prosumer era which has me grappling with thoughts that plagued me when I starting sharing my words, on stage, on page and onscreen, namely: relevance.

I, like so many (or the few who read these words) of you, blog. I spend time, albeit brief moments, scribbling thoughts, exposing myself for who I truly am and what I really think, but what is the relevance. Why do it? Who am I doing it for? You? Me? We?

As with most things in life, every action brings more questions. Every answer evokes two questions. What confuses me even more is that this action (random rantings online) has no answer. And yet I continue.

Sometimes I write with no purpose just so I can post..... I am of the school that writers should write, exercise that muscle, and, in time, something useful will come out of it.

I'm reading a book called Wikinomics and at the basis of it is the idea of collaboration (in all spheres) being the essence of this evolved information / digital age. I wonder whether through collaboration - my ramblings and your thoughts - I might find sanity.

Just a thought.

ramblings - looking back

I was recently going through my blog and came to the realisation that it's literally been a year since I posted regularly to this space. And in that time, so much has happened, so much time has passed by.

As a writer and a poet, I'm often asked what advice I would give to other aspiring wordsmiths. Beyond "don't do it, because it can be a loveless path to take, I am a firm believer in "living". Artists can be so self-indulgent, so inward looking. We talk about reflecting, highlighting and engaging with life but spend more time observing it than we do participating - maybe it's just me. But LIVING is a critical part to being able to artistically express and it is important that we embrace ALL aspects of life. We often restrict our engagement with life because we judge it, but that blocks us from experiences that may add value to our craft.

As a poet in Africa, there is much talk about poetry serving as the voice for the voiceless, as a tool for revolution or protest. While this is important, focusing solely on that means one's life is incomplete. What about love? Laughter? Clowning? These are all elements of being human. We are like Shrek, we have layers.

Where am I going with this? I feel I've gone the opposite route, which is a problem in itself. I have been so focused on living that I have neglected my passion, my essence - writing, sharing thought, word.

Hopefully, a year will not pass by again without words in this, the infinite pursuit of perfection.

Just a thought

Re-definition of Self

The Internet, as it re-defines itself, has provided many of us with the opportunity to reach across immense distance to create communities with like-minded people we may never have met in our lifetimes. The advent of collaborative and interactive spaces, like blogs, facebook and MySpace, have created friendships that will last over lifetimes while also allowing many of us to re-establish friendships with those who have moved on.

Sitting in Africa, a continent that has become, again, a cause for the world, I have always tried to keep abreast, as much as I can, of the developments available to us all. I truly believe that the 'Information Age' is the one era in which there opportunity for us, as Africans, to start to level the playing field. This Blog was my first one, which I started as a space to discuss the one thing I am truly passionate about - poetry. Since starting this one, I have also started a poetry blog (http://imperfectpoetry.blogspot.com) in which I post all my unedited raw poetry, two Myspace pages (www.myspace.com/kojobaffoe and www.myspace.com/kojothepoet) and a space of Facebook. I also have a random e-newsletter that I send out to a growing list of people, in which I share my thoughts on a range of subjects. (Always worry about whether they are relevant or not)

Anyway, I have discovered that it is easy to caught up in all these things but, over the last few weeks, have started to question the purpose of these spaces, and the countless others I have registered with and never used (and will probably never use coz I can't remember my passwords). In my mind: MySpace is a place for marketing myself as a writer and performer - I have two because I only realised you have to register with My Space Music separately if you want to include music; Facebook is for connecting with friends and I have re-connected with friends I haven't spoken to in over a decade; and, Imperfect Poetry is a self-indulgent experiment driven by a need to share and find relevance in my writing. This space? I don't know. That's what I've been grappling with.

But, I do feel this space is important, especially as my first true step into this new world. So, in an attempt to revive this space, I would like to start including my Ramblings on it. At the same time, if there is anyone who still visits me here, I would like thoughts, ideas, guidance, comments, etc on what you would like to see and hear here from a simple, yet confused African (and European) poet and writer trying to make sense of this crazy reality we reside in.

It's been a while. But I'm still here. Are you?

Easy

Kojo

Just

It's been a while since I posted anything here, been caught up with my space & struggling to clearly define the purpose of each space. Just felt the need to leave a few words here in celebration of another year beginning.

The whole poetry thing continues to exist as a large part of who I am, and there are always big plans for further expression in that realm, but I never feel settled in it. Directionless with direction. Sometimes I wish I had the liberty of giving it up but I cannot. Can't live with it and can't live without it. Aaah, the joys of drawing breath.

So! 2007. I do not do New Year's resolutions so it is about keeping on. Easy runnings

War

While we sleep
The bombs rain down on the heads of unknown children
Their bodies are separated from their spirits
they return to the heavens
And forsake the physical

While we sleep
They carve our souls from the earth
Fertilise it with our blood
Build fortresses on our land
Take ownership of what is not theirs to take

While we sleep
They wage war in the name of an equality that makes them stronger
Renders us the weaker

While we sleep
The bullets penetrate our bodies
Cleave humanity from humankind
Evolve us to a state of barbarism that has never existed
In the name of civilisation

While we sleep
While we sleep

While we sleep
Our prophets, our heroes, our fathers, our mothers are killed and buried in mass graves of silence
Their words drowned by the drone of fighter planes and gunships that take ownership of the skies

While we sleep
Peace is reversed
War is birthed
Death becomes the norm
Mind control real
Passion smothered
Souls extinguished

While we sleep
We lose our relevance
Our existence becomes irrelevant
Our legacy is silence
Our lives are nothing
We cannot run forever

Wake up!
I said wake up, children of the night
The world is coming to an end
What shall you tell your children?

Legitimacy

In the beginning of time
There was silence
When thought was original
And the workings of man
Resided in the divinity of the gods

Time ticked
The days crept through the residues of yesterday
And became today
And today thought is recycled
Our words have become imitations of past genius
Mere attempts to carve our place in the memories of our fellow being

e-dance

This technologically driven world is filled with possibility and some confusion. The Internet and, by extension, the created ability for all of us to make our thoughts felt has me twisted. Sadly, it is this space that has suffered for that. As a poet and writer seeking to build a career beyond the invisible borders of my current place of residence has me chasing every possibility. This was my first blog. I then created Imperfect Poetry (http://imperfectpoetry.blogspot.com) where I continue to post my poetry from my daily writing sessions.

In the last two months I have discovered My Space which, from the perspective of getting heard, has come to serve as my main space. www.myspace.com/kojobaffoe. At the same time, a few months ago I started sharing my thoughts (ramblings) with a group of friends via email, which I also post on My Space. Creating and keeping some sort of electronic presence is hard work.

I am making the assumption that there people out there interested in my words and thoughts. Please visit my space and imperfect poetry for regular word. Easy.

spaces

This is all very confusing. I am being consumed by the possibilities the www provides. I am finding myself in so many spaces that I am starting to lose track and it has become a job in itself trying to keep all spaces updated and current. The cliche about 'spreading oneself thin' comes to mind.

The list continues to grow. There are the two artist sites:
www.artistswithoutfrontiers.com (Writer's Section) and
http://othervoicespoetry.org/vol8/baffoe/index.html. My new excitement is that the Other Voices Project is coming out with an anthology and there is possibility of one of my poems being included in this. Also have a poem in the SA anthology Words Gone To Soon, celebrating two young writers who have passed on, Sello Duiker and Phaswane Mpe.

Anyway, I also have this blog and my Imperfect Poetry blog. Finally, I've been sending out Daily Ramblings, my rampant thoughts, out by email to a group of friends. Chaos. Well, a friend recently suggested I look at www.myspace.com as a possible 'venue' for consolidation. Trying it out so check me out on www.myspace.com/kojobaffoe and let me know what you think.

Poetically, things have been up and down but there is progress. In the last two weeks, I was MC/poet at the Joy of Jazz Festival that happens in Johannesburg every year, and performed at Sunday World Women's Celebration (a tabloid newspaper - made it into the paper without traditional 'bite' that seems to come with that privilege) and at a function for Ernst & Young. Flurry of activity I'm hoping will keep going.

The hustle continues.

Easy runnings