Knowledge and Unlearning in the Poetry of Koleka Putuma and Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese

Abstract This paper provides a reading, through a decolonial lens, of the debut work of two recently published South African poets, Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese and Koleka Putuma. In the work of both poets, the reader encounters contemporary South African black womxn subjects, constructed in the matrix of global coloniality. The works articulate issues of identity and belonging, with which many young South Africans are undoubtedly grappling. Both poets identify, interrogate, and resist what might be termed the realms of coloniality—namely coloniality of power, coloniality of knowledge, and coloniality of being—in a process of “unlearning”. A close reading of the themes and aesthetics of these two poets suggests that the site of enunciation for the speaking subjects that emerge is located at the fault lines between two or more very divergent knowledge frameworks.