Oleander   by Fiona Zerbst

Oleander explores life's complexities, both beautiful and poisonous – love, death, art, the aftermath of war and genocide, travel, religion, revelation. More wide-ranging than Zerbst's previous volumes, oleander charts experiences through which the self may be transformed.

Ever since her first collection, Parting Shots (1991), I have been a devoted fan of Fiona Zerbst’s work. With Oleander, her fourth collection, Zerbst further establishes the sense that the poetic is her metier. Her poetry draws on its ancient lyric roots, unafraid to sing or lament, unashamed to be poetry. In my view, Zerbst refreshes a tradition of lyric poetry without gimmicks or recourse to exercises in form; rather, she achieves this by staying true to the spirit of a tradition, thus staying true to her metier. I remain enthralled.

- Rustum Kozain

About the author
Fiona Zerbst was born in Cape Town in 1969. She has lived in Johannesburg and Cape Town and is currently based in Rustenburg in the North-West Province. She spent six months in Ukraine and Russia and has visited Argentina, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Egypt.

She works as a freelance writer and has a Masters degree from UCT.

Previous volumes of poetry include Parting Shots (1991), The Small Zone (1995) and Time and Again (2002).

Available from:
Email: modjaji.books@gmail.com