04 Jul 2018

Poet, Agnes Chinego, 30, of Francistown got an opportunity of a lifetime when she got an invite to particpate at a poetry session for African youth organised by Ebuhle Poetry group in South Africa.

Speaking in an interview, Chinego said she had no idea that posting her poetry video clips on social media would be a stepping stone to greatness.

The video clips she used to post earned her a ticket to be among Batswana poets who would showcase their talent in a poetry session, which started in  South Africa on Saturday.

The poetry session will focus mainly on grooming and nurturing poetry talent among the youth in Southern African countries.

“I have always recorded poems and posted them on Facebook and Whatsapp applications with the idea to share and open up for critics and it happened that officials from the Ebuhle group in South Africa got fascinated with my video clips and they invited me to their poetry session,” she said.

Chinego pointed out that such an invitation would positively market her work and help her to network with other poets and benchmark on possible ways of contributing to her prosperity as a poet.

Chinego further said the group would help her pull some strings that would enhance her career.

Madona, as she is affectionately known, recites her poems in English.

She explained that she had since realised that many poets had been doing poetry in Setswana and as such wanted to favour those who would enjoy poems recited in English.

Chinego has been interested in poetry since her primary school days.

“I used to write short stories and poems that I gave to people to read for their feedback,” she said.

Her poems are mainly meant to motivate other people.

“Whenever I go out for a performance; I do it with passion and much enthusiasm because I know well that the dividends I receive thereafter are my source of livelihood, “she said.

She does not only recite poems and leave it hanging but rather works on documenting them for future use.

Her breakthrough came when she started to compete for President’s Day Competitions in Francistown, where she was groomed by other fellow poets, who encouraged her to up her game

She is also a script writer for short stories and dramas.ENDS