It was both a
sad and joyous occasion when Karima Hoisan agreed to come to perform for us at
Irish Estates recently, her first time back in realms for several months. The elation at seeing her again was tempered
with the knowledge of why she had left sl in the first place - to make the long
Journey from her rl Costa Rican home to visit a friend in the United States and
more poignant still, it was a journey made with the sole purpose of being at
the end for a childhood friend dying
from Cancer.
For me, it is a
mark of what makes Karima such an outstanding performer is the clarity with
which she is able to lay bare her heart
and soul, the nuance and expression articulated in each of her poems so
eloquently expressed and on this occasion specifically in the two readings she
dedicated to her friend which so touched the audience around her. One a poem
she composed herself in tribute to her friend ‘Glide away’ the other one which
had touched her and which she had found in a book at the hospice ‘Gone from my
sight’ by Henry Van Dyke.
As she read , in her voice there was the
obvious distress, memories that are still raw for her, yet so evident too the
love she had for her friend that not a single person in the room remained
untouched by the experience. Afterwards, so many people spoke to me, thanked me
for bringing her to the Estates, told me how much her words had moved them for
many they could relate to the same feelings at the loss of somebody close in
their own lives.
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Karima looked beautiful,
composed and serene as she sat in the lush tropical décor of the Irish Estates
gardens, she did not look out of place amongst the wealth of blooms and flowers
in a pink and purple dress that complimented their exquisite colours. Karima
had chosen it especially and with obvious care the same way she does with the
music and art that accompanies each recital. Some of the music is composed by Karima herself,
some well-known like Dire Straits or others more obscure and each accompanied
by the artwork she chooses to illustrate the mood she creates, that sets the
tone for each individual poem. Karimas best musical accompaniement is the sound
of her voice, it is almost hypnotic,
lyrical, a touch of the exotic and so essential to conveying the deeper meaning
of the pieces, it is as much her instrument as the pen.
This is very
much performance art, infusing the
senses it lifts, provokes, makes you think deeply at times or feel equally as
deeply at others. Some of her works bring a smile, for example ‘Shot in the
head’ whilst others make you reflect on your own life, your own experiences.
This week I particularly enjoyed ‘Whale Song’ and just to give you a flavour
unfortunately without the words, I am including a picture here.
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Lastly, or almost lastly, I wish to thank Irishgent, owner of Irish Estates for trusting me..when I told him ‘I want to book a Poetess’. Whilst others might have balked for it is impossible to describe Karimas performance adequately unless you have seen it first, he had the faith to believe me that this was something worth putting on for our residents. We had 40 turn up, 39 in fact and every one of them stayed until the end. I’m glad to say, he became a Karima convert too.
I spoke to
Karima recently, she wrote a book of poetry a couple of years ago and I
suggested to her that it might be time to write a new one. I am delighted to
say that she’s giving it some thought. In the meantime do please pester her to
give you a copy of the previous book. It
makes great reading and it looks wonderful on my coffee table in my sl home. I
leave it open and people have been flicking through and reading it!
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