About the Project
Launched in 2013, the Southern African Poetry Project – ZAPP – brings together leading poets, teachers, educationalists, scholars, publishers and arts administrators in an exciting collaboration working to:
- develop joint research with the University of Cambridge and the University of the Witwatersrand on Southern African poetry
- develop and extend knowledge, understanding and creative engagement with southern African poetry among secondary school students aged 11–18
- support teachers (in the UK and in South Africa) in developing knowledge and understanding of Southern African poetry and in becoming confident in tackling it creatively in the classroom
- increase the representation of southern African poets on the Poetry Archive
We plan to hold a symposium in South Africa in 2014 and a conference in Cambridge in 2016 – bringing together the project teams from the UK and South Africa as well as drawing renowned poets, academics and practitioners from around the world, providing the opportunity to disseminate research outcomes and focus on the impact of southern African poetry in UK and South African classrooms.
Publications will include joint research articles in refereed journals, a ‘book of the course’ and an anthology of southern African poetry for young adults.