So much has changed in our world. We kept on waiting for things to settle around COVID-19. We thought that would give us the space to figure out what to do about hosting ISPI in 2021 in South Africa.
But, we are all still waiting for that moment, and living with that uncertainty is what we have to work with. Following consultations with our local steering committee and also John and Natalie who hosted the last ISPI in Halifax, we have decided to cancel ISPI for 2021. We will then host it (hopefully) in person in South Africa from 23-27th May 2022. We all felt that there was something special about having the conference for the first time on African soil and doing so in person and not remotely.
We acknowledge that pushing it out by another year does make it an incredibly long time before we are able to come together as a community. To address this, the SA steering committee will host a poetry/poetic experience that will speak to the conference theme. This will be avirtualZoom Webinar on Friday, the 28th May 2021. We hope this will allow us to do several things: 1) come together as a community of poetic inquirers around the world and 2) introduce you to South African poets and poetry so you have a taste of what's to come in 2022. We will send details about the Webinar towards the end of this year. Until then stay safe and well.
Warm regards
Heidi on behalf of the SA Steering Committee
Professor Heidi van Rooyen Group Executive The Impact Centre Human Sciences Research Council Honorary Professor: University of the Witwatersrand