Tribute to Diana Ferrus (1953–2026), South African poet

Diana Ferrus, born on 29 August 1953 in Worcester, Cape Province (Union of South Africa), and who passed away on 30 January 2026, was one of the great poetic and moral voices of contemporary South Africa. A poet, writer and activist, she devoted her work to restoring dignity to voices silenced by slavery and apartheid.

Her name remains inextricably linked to that of Sarah Baartman (the “Hottentot Venus”). In 1998, with A Poem for Sarah Baartman (I’ve Come to Take You Home), Diana Ferrus transformed poetry into an act of justice. This text played a decisive role in the repatriation of Sarah Baartman’s remains to South Africa, helping to right a historical injustice and restore dignity to a woman dehumanised by the colonial gaze.

Diana Ferrus’ work also seeks to restore names and memories to the victims of slavery. Her poem ‘My Name Is February’ pays tribute to the shipwrecked slaves of the slave ship São José, which sank off Cape Town on a stormy night in December 1794 with approximately 500 slaves on board. In Cape Town, deported slaves lost their identity upon arrival and were renamed after the month of their landing, a symbol of the total dispossession of their being.

This shared memory was embodied during the commemoration of the abolition of slavery on 20 December 2023 at the Villèle Historical Museum. Diana Ferrus was invited to attend, alongside a delegation from the Iziko Museums of Cape Town, as part of a partnership between Réunion and South Africa. The museum was then hosting the exhibition ‘My Name Is February’, which brought into dialogue the history of slavery at the Cape with that of La Réunion and the Indian Ocean. The poet’s presence in this emblematic place served as a reminder that the memory of slavery connects continents and that poetry can become a space for recognition and for dignity restored.

Today, the Department and the Villèle Historical Museum express their gratitude.