Driftword

Henrik Brand, also known as croc E moses, comes from many places and from nowhere; he is of here, only here, yet not. The dislocations of today and their sudden openings are croc E’s field of dreams and protest, proclamations and heresy. Like a true court jester, the poet hints, teases, and sings about overscaled expectation and mutterings of selfhood. Many of the songs/poems partly stem from this Canadian-born poet’s living within South Africa; yet, somewhat outside of institutions and corporations, unbound by securities and ever uncertain, as many artists are. Croc E moses has moved beyond the role of an outsider, looking on. He has physically and emotionally submerged himself within the rain, tears, blood, and waters of his current African home environment. His spiritual attachment to the land itself, apart from his sharing the plight of its inhabitants, drives him to challenge his audiences to reconsider the status quo of their own selfhood. Driftword offers readers a refreshingly raw voice of a modern-day songster bringing poetry, song, and performance together. The book is accompanied by an audio CD, competing the poetic offering by providing a set of poems performed to carefully curated sounds, drumming, and music. These blended aspects provide audiences with a rhythmic journey through a set of poems with certain key themes, recurring as increasingly biting, bitter-sweet refrains. The result is a lyrical glimpse into the multidimensional approach to poetry. (Series: Unisa Flame) [Subject: Poetry, Music]