New

ISBN	9781990922671
Pages	88
Dimensions	210x148mm
Published	2023
Publisher	Botsotso Publishing , South Africa
Format	Paperback

Everybody is a Bridge

poems, prose-poems, notes & fragments

by Anton Krueger

The same poet who observes that “everybody is a bridge/’’ then asks in Zen-fashion, “Is it me, or is it you?/ are you reflection or projection / or the light that’s shining through?’’ can also note in a very down-to-earth way, that “If we hadn’t robbed the car washers of their coin/they might not have turned so mean, you know? / Let them earn a little income, bra/ If we’d chiselled our hearts open, tried to see it from the middle/we’d have softened just a little.” And so, while keeping the big picture of the difficulties before us unflinchingly, Anton imbues such philosophical and political statements with images of very real people and their struggle for survival. But this is one aspect of his writing. As importantly, through these ‘poems, prose- poems, notes & fragments’, runs a whimsical sense of his youth and later years as a white South African whose numerous relatives and friends make their appearance in the form of anecdotal history turned into poetic narrative. In this way, the collection is varied, and very personal and true to Anton’s past and present, a very satisfying buffet that offers a unique taste of his Buddhistic soul.

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About the Author

Anton Krueger

Anton Krueger was the first English poetry editor for Litnet and from 1997- 2001, was part of the "Bekgeveg" team performing monthly at venues all over Pretoria and Johannesburg, as well as at the Klein Karoo Kunstefees and Aardklop festivals. Poems from this era were published in the anthology Six of the Best (1998, Poets Press). He was invited to perform at Poetry Africa in 2008 and in 2023. His first anthology, Everyday Anomalies appeared in 2011 (Aerial) and in the same year his poem “Nine Notes on Lisbon” was a runner up for the Dalro poetry prize. Over the last few years, Anton has been experimenting with improvised spoken word collaborations with a variety of musicians and DJs, including Tony Bentel and Francois le Roux (the HA! man). Anton has also published plays, memoir, short stories, criticism and arts journalism. He lives in Makhanda where he heads the Department of Literary Studies in English at Rhodes University. Still, Anton considers himself an amateurist, inspired by love rather than profit, gift instead of commodity. Selections from Everybody is a Bridge have been performed in collaboration with improvisations on piano by Paul Hanmer.