Miss Sassy Basse in full flight, performing her poetry on stage. (Image: Bulelwa Basse)
Bulelwa Basse, the poet known on stage as Miss Sassy Basse, is the founder of the Lyrical Base Project, an arts and culture organisation that works with writers from sidelined communities to uplift and increase their capacity in creative writing, poetry and performing arts.
She immerses herself in anything that connects to her passion, but with a specific agenda – empowering and motivating women in multiple disciplines, such as education, literary and performing arts, culture and business.
Bulelwa’s poetry has been recognised by the Poetry Institute of Africa, the Department of Arts and Culture, and Oprah Winfrey Magazine, among others. And she has played her part in active citizenship by empowering, teaching and representing South Africa as an arts and cultural exchange ambassador to India and the United Kingdom.
Her poem, “A Woman’s Journey”, relates to the obstacles facing women. Here is an extract:
A Woman’s Journey (Priceless is Her Worth: She is Woman)
Her love is nothing short of God:
She seeks connection
with every soul she meets
Found love, first,
before knowing who she was
In random tragedy
she learns hard lessons
Through loss of many sentimentals,
gains internal sharpening
Her eyes widen with awe
per universal orbit
And with life’s surprising schooling,
steps the world
with a little bit of wisdom
Watch Basse perform her poem “She is Woman”:
