Stephen Symons

Stephen Symons

Title of the presentation: Questions for the Sea

Stephen will be reading a selection of poems from his debut collection Questions for the Sea which will be published this year. The reading will also include a number of unpublished poems. Copies of Questions for the Sea will be available for purchase.

Stephen Symons is a practising graphic designer and poet. Currently, he is a PhD candidate at the Centre for African Studies (UCT). Stephen’s PhD research focuses on how former South African Defence Force (SADF) conscripts (1980-1990) navigate memories of induction into the SADF and whiteness in post post-apartheid society. He holds an MA in Creative Writing (with distinction) from the University of Cape Town. His poetry, essays and short-fiction have been published in journals, magazines and various anthologies, locally and internationally, including Prufrock, Carapace, Stanzas, New Contrast, uHlanga, Aerodrome, Poetry Potion, The Kalahari Review, LitNet, Badilisha Poetry, Wavescape, Patricia Schonstein’s Africa anthology series and the Short Sharp Stories anthology ‘Incredible Journey’ . 

His unpublished collection, Spioenkop was listed as a semi-finalist for the Hudson Prize for Poetry (US) in 2015. More recently a selection of his poems has been selected for a special edition of Re-Markings, a refereed international bi-annual journal of English. Stephen’s debut collection of poetry, Questions for the Sea will be published this year by uHlanga Poetry Press. When he is not in the ocean, he lives in Oranjezicht with his wife and two children. 

Visit badilishapoetry.com or http://tiny.cc/dfabzx to read Stephen's poetry and writing.