MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Great Brak River poet Lluyle Arendse (29) recently secured the Young and Innovative Artist Award at the Western Cape Cultural Affairs Awards at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town on 7 October.
Arendse said this was an accolade that still feels surreal to him.
He told Mossel Bay Advertiser although he had applied for the award, he had also submitted a portfolio of his works and a motivational write-up as to why he should be considered for the title.
“When I received my invitation for the ceremony on 23 September, I thought, wow, I didn’t expect it, and I might have been reading the invitation wrong, that it might not have been meant for me, but then I saw my name,” he said.
“I did not expect to win that evening, but they called my name. It was a surreal moment.”
Arendse said the award represents the next generation of artists under 35 and it focuses on the artist’s originality, creativity and community impact.
He said his love of writing started while he was in primary school. He said he enjoyed writing essays, and his teachers would often compliment him on his work.
It was when he was in Grade Nine in Great Brak Secondary that his passion for poetry was fully ignited. He said he and some friends started a rap group.
“I would also write about deep emotions I felt the rap scene didn’t really accommodate, and would just keep them to myself. It was in 2017 that I started to take my poetry more seriously,” he said.
“I knew I wanted to publish a book, so I would make notes and little scribbles.”
Arendse then became part of the Mossel Bay Creative Cultures Association (Mocca), working with artists such as Petronel Baard and Cornelle Carstens.
He started doing gigs, his first big performance being the opener for the Dias Festival in 2018.
“It felt like a huge responsibility. I was asked to write about the people of greater Mossel Bay and their experiences. I was inspired by a line I read on the Mossel Bay Municipality’s website: ‘Where heritage meets growth’”.
Kimberly Treurnicht, Lluyle Arendse and Mossel Bay Municipality’s Mayor, Dirk Kotzé. Photo: Facebook/ Lluyle Arendse
"I remember after my performance, an elderly woman came up to me and thanked me. She said she felt my poetry in her soul. I felt extremely moved by what she said, and that specific feedback I felt in my heart,” he said.
Arendse said his writing has changed over the years, and after he had become closer with the writing community at large, he felt he could be more honest and raw with his poetry.
“My biggest inspiration comes from conversations with people, or ones I overhear. I write about the untold stories of the community. There are many negative connotations about rural areas, but there are so many success stories that come from these places. I feel the narrative needs to change. We should be focusing on the positive and not just the negative.
“I like to put myself in other people’s shoes, see things from their perspective. I want people to be able to relate to my poetry,” he said.
In 2021, he self-published his debut poetry anthology, called Unspoken. He plans on publishing a sequel soon.
Arendse writes in both English and Afrikaans, but hopes to expand more into the Afrikaans market.
He will be performing at the Groot-Brak Boekeblaf, a writers’ and book festival on Vorentoe Primary’s sportsgrounds between 7 and 9 November.
To read Arendse’s work and find out more about this poet, visit his website on www.lluyle.co.za.
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