The Forum for Empowerment of Women (FEW) was honored to spend time with renowned artist and political activist Staceyann Chin during her visit to South Africa recently, having been invited by Wits Arts and Literature Experience (WALE).

On 23 April FEW’s board and staff members hosted a dinner where they got up, close and personal with Chin who shared her poetry and life experiences as a lesbian woman who grew up in Jamaica, also learning from black lesbians from South Africa who are friends of FEW.The organisation also mobilised constituencies to attend Chin’s performance at the University of Witwatersrand on 24 April where she told stories of her childhood in Jamaica, narrating from her book The other Side of Paradise: the Memoir.

“It’s amazing to see strong black lesbians fighting for their rights, it has inspired me a lot”, Chin said.

She added, “South African black lesbians are more similar to Jamaican but the difference is that lesbians from here are strong, courageous, speak out and claim their space in society. Keep doing what you are doing and invite others, write your story if you are a writer, draw your story if you are an artist and film your story if you are a film maker.”

Busi Kheswa, FEW’s Director said the organization grabbed the opportunity of meeting Chin to build a relationship with her as an artist and poet, something that she said is in common with what FEW does.

“We also wanted to propose that she becomes our Patron as FEW we are in the process of developing financial strategies, it requires partnering with people locally and internationally and her response was positive.

”Kheswa further thanked Wits Professor Tawana Kupe, Dean of the faculty of humanities, for sponsoring the organisation with 50 tickets and two taxis to transport people from local townships to Chin’s performance on Saturday.

“The performance was interesting and an eye opener for me. It gave me courage to document stories happening around me”, Zama Sibiya who attended Chin’s performance as part of FEW said.

Born in Jamaica, currently residing in New York City, Chin is a household name for fans of her work and poetry in general.In her website www.staceyannchin.com she is described as having been an “out poet and political activist” since 1998.

From the rousing cheers of the Nuyorican Poets Café, one woman shows Off-Broadway, poetry workshops in Denmark and London, to co-writer and performer in the Russel Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Brodway, Chin credits the long list of  ‘things she has done’ to her grandmother’s hard-working history and the pain of her mother’s absence.