Norman Kester

(Canada)

Norman Kester is an author and poet. Born in South Africa, Norman immigrated to Canada with his family in 1969 during the height of Apartheid.

He is the editor of the groundbreaking work, Liberating Minds (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1997) and in 1999 he established his own imprint -- District Six Press in Toronto, to publish his recent works, including From here to District Six: a South African Memoir with new Poetry, Prose and Other Writings (2000), and Liquid Love and Other Longings: Selected Poems (2000). Norman returned to South Africa to participate in Poetry Africa 2003 hosted by the University of Natal in Durban.

Kester's writings blur traditional boundaries of prose and poetry, richly interweaving memory, storytelling and history. From here to District Six: a South African Memoir, his second work, is broad in scope and relates to the impact of colonialism and apartheid. It speaks of personal forgiveness and national reconciliation.

Kester has read and performed from his work at the University of Toronto and York University, local venues and bookstores in Toronto and San Francisco. A strong advocate for intellectual freedom and social justice, Kester is a member of the League of Canadian Poets and serves actively on the Canadian Book and Periodical Association's Freedom of Expression Committee.

As part of Abilities Arts Festival 2005, Norman Kester read from his work at the festival's Sunday Morning Show.