Transcontinental Delay

by Simon van Schalkwyk

In Transcontinental Delay,
Simon Van Schalkwyk tracks experiences of imminent arrival and
departure, periods of waiting and suspension between destinations,
points where the demands of place dissolve into the more anticipatory
potentialities of space. Drawing on geographical lexicons familiar to
South African localities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg, the
collection also captures ﬂeeting encounters with global spaces as far
aﬁeld as the United Kingdom, Argentina and Sweden. Considering the world
from a position of “transcendental homelessness” rather than more
conventional expressions of estrangement, alienation, or exile, the
poems collected in Transcontinental Delay are attentive to a
fundamental sense of unbelonging, registering the moods, tones and
attitudes of the visitor and stranger: ﬁgures of restlessness and, at
times, obscurity, at odds with both the settlements of “home” and the
transitory compulsions of travel.

Read an interview with Simon Van Schalkwyk about his poetry here.

£18.00

About the author

Simon van Schalkwyk

Simon van Schalkwyk is
a lecturer in the Department of English Studies at Wits University and
is the academic editor for The Johannesburg Review of Books. He is a
recipient of The Philip Stein Award for Poetry and also of the Mamphela
Ramphele scholarship. He has BA Hons and PhD degrees in English
literature from the University of Cape Town and went on to obtain a
Masters of Art in Modern and Contemporary Poetry from the University of
Bristol in the United Kingdom. He has been an active presence in South
Africa’s literary scene – contributing occasional essays, critical
reviews of novels and poetry to Aerodrome, The Conversation and The
Johannesburg Review of Books, and conducting interviews for The
Johannesburg Review of Books with writers and scholars. His poetry has
appeared in New Contrast: The South African Literary Journal, The
Johannesburg Review of Books and Imago. Transcontinental Delay is his
debut poetry collection.

Review

“Simon van
Schalkwyk’s poetry pulls the world into uncommon focus. He is a poet of
place and occasion, using telling precision of words, and the upending
image. Not only is this a startling debut of maturity and
accomplishment, but among its poems are those which, from the outset,
will enter the literature.”

P. R. Anderson