TJ spreads her wings

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Pako Lebanna

Location : Gaborone

Event : Interview

 

Human speech is a given ability to most but very few actually have that gift of the garb - the aptitude to tell stories in a manner that grabs the attention of the audience.

One of those few is Tjawanga Dema. Otherwise known simply as TJ, she is one of the greatest spoken word poets of her generation in Botswana.  As we meet in a café in the centre of Gaborones Main Mall, a restaurant that has provided space for poets to express themselves creatively, she joins Kutlwano crew while chatting on her phone.

We may both be 15 minutes early for our 2:30pm appointment but TJ still takes time before we can pin her down for the interview. Time and again, TJ has to attend to business calls on her phone.  It is clear that the lady has now spread her wings - from a mere poet to a budding businesswoman.With parentage from Mmadikola, “a small place near Rakops” as she puts it, TJ was nevertheless born and raised in Gaborone’s Extension 10 location - one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods close to the University of Botswana and Old Mosque.

“I had a standard one teacher who was called Mrs Schefer who taught us the alphabet in a phonetic way, pronouncing alphabetic letters the way they are actually pronounced “eye” instead of “I” for example,” she says.

Over the years, she says there have been many people “at different points in my life,” including a “mathematics teacher of all people” in junior secondary, who all inspired her chosen vocation.

It was at Exodus poetry group that she cut her teeth.  “There was this gentleman called Phil Rotz, an American who was in Botswana at the time, and Kenneth Moeng.  They regularly attended Barolong Seboni’s poetry sessions,” she reveals.

Being younger gentlemen, Rotz and Moeng wanted a more modern, urbane delivery of the spoken word that could appeal to the youth.  They were part of a group that would pioneer modern spoken word poetry in Botswana.

 “There were many others who were there in the beginning such as Phenyo Mauchaza and Malcom Champane.  Exodus was an exciting project, though we had to find resources internally. There was no financial backing but we just had the passion to see the project through,” enthuses TJ.

However, over the past decade, while there are many who were instrumental in the development of modern spoken word poetry in the country, the names TJ Dema and Andreatta Chuma stick out.

“It is because of hard work and focus,” quips TJ.  “I cannot put a finger on it.  There are some talented poets who may not have had the same attention we did.  Maybe journalists who attended poetry sessions chose to focus on me but the one clear thing is that our success had a lot to do with hard work, dedication, focus,” says TJ.

This year, TJ is focused on the business side of things - having decided to spread her wings a few years back.

She founded Sauti, a company that deals with events management as well as arts and performance management.

“I decided that I wanted to go into the business side of things.  I developed a portfolio and started dealing with others from a more professional level,” she says.

TJ feels that if one makes a business approach to poetry or the arts, they are able to extract greater financial reward from their art.

“If they are dealing with you as a corporate entity then you are taken more seriously,” the cheerful, well-spoken TJ opines.

She has managed to bring together some of the country’s best budding young talent, the likes of Mandisa Mabutho and Samantha Mogwe.

“Anyone interested in booking them, they go through me, I negotiate the deal,” she reveals. “The artists are only coordinating the artistic part - they plan the actual performance.  Some of them are fully contracted while others have an arrangement with us,” reckons TJ.

Some of the artists with an ‘arrangement’ with Sauti include Setswana poets Moroka and Ntirelang Berman, who have gained fame for modernising traditional Tswana spoken word delivery.

Given the successes of the duo, one wonders why Chuma, TJ and others of their generation who modernised spoken word poetry to Batswana youth chose predominantly English as a medium of communication and tend to mimic the African-American style of delivery.

“English is the language that we can best express ourselves in,” reckons TJ, noting that she comes from a particular generation of urban Batswana children whose parents saw its importance and promoted it.

She says had she focused on using Setswana, as someone who was raised speaking mostly English both at school and home, she may be limited in her delivery. 

As for the African-American influence, she notes: “We have had our own poets in this country, the likes of Ponatshego Mokane and others.  However, growing up, you could hear them for only one hour on a Sunday on radio.  No written text, no videos.”

 “However, with African-America poetry, you have texts available, videos.  You have Def Jam poetry (a major American spoken word festival), available online.  It was a lot easier to be inspired by African-Americans,” she says.

Notwithstanding, TJ realises the importance of evolving a more Botswana-style of poetry in English.  She says as veterans in the field, she and her generation are the ones to develop it.

“If there is going to be a distinctive style it will come from me and the likes of Andreatah because we are experienced enough in the field.  Also, my next step is to submit written poetry to journals - seeing my work in print allows me to better analyse and critique it - a new form can evolve,” she says optimistically.

TJ’s poetry has taken her across the world - to places such as India, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Malawi. 

In recent years, she has been a part of the “Poetry Africa” festival which took her to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Blantyre and Harare in October last year. TJ will again traverse the region with the same event later this year.For now, she is focused on growing Sauti.  “It is very much a modest enterprise but is a worthy enterprise, a viable business,” she reckons.

Sauti deals with events management, such as company conference management and she has done business with the likes of SADC and USAid.

However, TJ remains a passionate poet.  She feels that internationally Botswana is still struggling to feature in the arts, that the country’s main artistic carnivals such as the Maitisong Festival are not nearly as big as what she sees when she travels in neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa.

“Many people travel from across the world to attend these events.  We could be helping institutions such as BEDIA that try to get people to invest in Botswana or tour the country,” she advises.

“My skill base is wide enough, I have learnt a lot from travelling internationally. It is not just about being in Paris but about learning what others do.  I would like to see Botswana have its own international festival, hosting the world,” enthuses TJ.

That she is capable of this challenge is not in question.  TJ has proved herself over the years.  The dawn of a new era for her has just begun.

 

Teaser:

 

“It is because of hard work and focus.  I cannot put a finger on it.  There are some talented poets who may not have had the same attention we did.  Maybe journalists who attended poetry sessions chose to focus on me but the one clear thing is that our success had a lot to do with hard work, dedication and focus.”