Through emotional language evoking deeper meanings, Gaone Mogae’s poetry book titled From Their Lips to Mine, confronts the hidden wounds of the society, touching on somewhat challenging issues.
Her poetry collection cautions and raises alarm for action on challenging societal issues such as abuse, rape, gender-based violence (GBV), exploitation of power, and by so doing transforming silence into testimony.
“Initially, I wrote poetry inspired by stories I encountered on social media. I never imagined I would live through them myself. Now the words carry my own pain,” she reflected.
What began as distant narratives has become deeply personal, as she too has endured the social ills she writes about. Born in Nlaphwane and an alumna of the University of Botswana, Mogae observed that GBV had reached unprecedented level in the country.
“Every week there is a murder or an attempted murder. Yet we skirt around these issues. We cannot solve them by sweeping them under the carpet,” said a communications and community relations specialist, who is also an admirer of the works by Lord Byron and William Shakespeare.
She has therefore, realised the urgent need to tell stories rooted in Botswana’s realities, stories that inspire positive change, stories that future generations can recognise as part of their history. As someone who has personally experienced abuse, Mogae called for change.
“The system is failing victims. We need reforms and policies that truly protect victims of abuse” she emphasised.
Her poetry book is intended to spark conversations about the elephant in the room, a societal ill which covers criminal acts of rape, sexual molestation, abortion, and other taboo and culture relating subjects that Batswana often whisper about but rarely gets confronted.
From Their Lips to Mine is for sale in the global market with its copies having reached Namibia, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, the Amazon site, the UK and the Library of Congress in the United States.
