[TEDxCapeTown] Speaker profile: Kyle Louw

He has performed in many major venues including The Fugard, Baxter, Artscape and more, as well as being published in international magazines.

His talk for TEDxCapeTown is Roses, Violets, Preconceptions ... Poetry, which he will be presenting on Saturday, 15 August at City Hall in Cape Town.

How did you get involved in spoken word poetry?

Louw: I was working in IT and was on Facebook one day, as we are, and came across a video a friend shared on spoken word poetry and was captivated by it. I've been involved in it since 2013 and perform at shows from Stellies to Cape Town.

As well as performing at shows I also write for some magazines, and am just finishing up a poem for Cape Town Tourism, so spoken word does have a commercial aspect to it.

Is this your first TEDx, how are you feeling about it?

Louw: Yes, this is my first. I feel good, it's always been on my bucket list to present at a TEDx so this feels like a dream come true for me. It's also my birthday weekend, so it's a nice way to celebrate it. I'm obviously feeling nervous, but looking forward to it.

What are you looking forward to the most?

Louw: Being able to share poetry with a large audience and to see how they react to it. It's a good way for people to see the other side of poetry.

What is your interpretation on the theme: Open Access Control?

My interpretation of the theme is touching on the mental side of things. So in terms of the mind, it deals with opening it, accessing it, and controlling it in terms of voicing your opinions.

How will your presentation relate to the theme?

Louw: I'm going to be performing some poems during my presentation that will all touch on each theme. 'Open' will relate to the mind, and opening yourself up to the world, whereas 'Access' will touch on social media, and how everything is accessible now. I'll be doing an alphabet poem for the point of 'Control', in order to tell a story using each letter of the alphabet.

Find out more about Kyle here, and follow him on Twitter: @Kyle__Louw.

Ticket information for TEDxCapeTown can be found on Quicket.

For more, visit www.tedxcapetown.org/.

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