{"id":15951,"date":"2026-02-05T10:37:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T06:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/?p=15951"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:40:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T06:40:39","slug":"tribute-to-diana-ferrus-1953-2026-south-african-poet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/tribute-to-diana-ferrus-1953-2026-south-african-poet\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribute to Diana Ferrus (1953\u20132026), South African poet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">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.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Her name remains inextricably linked to that of Sarah Baartman (the &#8220;Hottentot Venus&#8221;). In 1998, with <em>A Poem for Sarah Baartman<\/em> (<em>I&#8217;ve Come to Take You Home<\/em>), Diana Ferrus transformed poetry into an act of justice. This text played a decisive role in the repatriation of Sarah Baartman&#8217;s remains to South Africa, helping to right a historical injustice and restore dignity to a woman dehumanised by the colonial gaze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diana Ferrus&#8217; work also seeks to restore names and memories to the victims of slavery. Her poem \u2018<em>My Name Is February<\/em>\u2019 pays tribute to the shipwrecked slaves of the slave ship S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a04d275dc37b&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"565\" height=\"700\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/My-Name-Is-February-Poster-800x1000_V2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11835\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/My-Name-Is-February-Poster-800x1000_V2.jpg 565w, https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/My-Name-Is-February-Poster-800x1000_V2-242x300.jpg 242w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:139px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This shared memory was embodied during the commemoration of the abolition of slavery on 20 December 2023 at the Vill\u00e8le Historical Museum. Diana Ferrus was invited to attend, alongside a delegation from the Iziko Museums of Cape Town, as part of a partnership between R\u00e9union and South Africa. The museum was then hosting the exhibition \u2018<em>My Name Is February<\/em>\u2019, which brought into dialogue the history of slavery at the Cape with that of La R\u00e9union and the Indian Ocean. The poet&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, the Department and the Vill\u00e8le Historical Museum express their gratitude.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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. &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/tribute-to-diana-ferrus-1953-2026-south-african-poet\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Tribute to Diana Ferrus (1953\u20132026), South African poet&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":15949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15951"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15988,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15951\/revisions\/15988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}