Poet included in prestigious anthology

The European Union Sol Plaatje poetry competition anthology – an anthology honouring the spirit of legendary intellectual giant Sol Plaatje – includes a poem by Randburg resident Ruth Everson.

Everson is an English teacher at St Stithians Girls’ College. She was thrilled by the news and explained that her poem, called Departure, was inspired by a photograph she took of a man in a suit standing on the beach. “It is about a rediscovery of African identity.” The accolade follows the very successful launch of Everson’s second anthology, Landscapes of Courage, held at Hodges Coffee Shop in the Colony Shopping Centre last month. Everson performed her poetry alongside friend and colleague, Colette Bruton, at an evening event called Poems plus Piano.

“The book launch was fantastic. My poetry was received with such kindness. Two comments stay with me. First, from a top musician, ‘Your words have music,’ and then, from someone else who said, ‘You didn’t read enough – we wanted more’.”

Everson said many people requested another event which she and Bruton will definitely look into. “I also think Colette [Bruton] added so much to the evening. Her music added a delicate touch to the words.”

Everson began writing when she was very young and won her first competition when she was 12. “In high school, I won a national writing competition two years in a row – the old 1820 Settlers Competition.”

She won the Woman & Home short story competition in 2010 and was asked to accompany her school’s English Olympiad winners on their overseas tour in recognition of her work for the 1820 Foundation and National Schools’ Festivals, where she participated for almost two decades. She has also been a keynote speaker at a number of festivals, schools and conferences, and many schools study her poetry.