I first met Primrose Mrwebi, a founder member of the CCC in 2007 at an Irish pub, Catu, in Cape Town where she was performing poetry and where the CCC had its nascent beginnings.
The poem that I remember her performing most fondly was Sthandwa sam (My love) that I asked her to perform on more than one occasion.
In 2008, the Cape Cultural Collective took a trip to the Southern Cape, performing in the communities of George and Oudtshoorn and Primrose was one of three young women poets, the other two being Amanda Nodada and Candice Prinsloo, who were unwavering in their commitment to truth-telling through poetry.
Primrose who was a great believer in reading and writing began distributing books through the Bhalani Readers and Writers Association (BRAWA), which also taught young people to read and write, so that too could be entranced by the beauty of creative writing, literature and poetry.
At the CCC, Primrose would often MC the monthly programmes. She could hold a room as performing artist and facilitator, a role she played in many spaces, including the District Six Museum and the Zabalaza Festival at the Baxter Theatre.
Prim was a poetry warrior. A few years ago she established the PrimPoetry Foundation, aimed at creating a platform to popularize poetry.
On behalf of the Cape Cultural Collective, I convey our sincere condolences to her dear son, Qamani, her family, her friends and colleagues as we mourn and celebrate a life cut short prematurely. I want to end with a verse with one of Primrose’s poems,
Careful they are trying to drown our voices in silence, from the CCC’s poetry anthology, At Truth’s Edge.
Zenariah Barends, 17 February 2022
(CCC founder member and former chairperson)