Kyle Allan is a 28 year old poet, performer, recording artist and freelance
writer from South Africa. He is distinguished both by his idiosyncratic and dynamic performance styles as well as the complexity and depth yet direct energy of his poetic syntax. He is an artist capable of surprising and unexpected diversity.
He has released an album of poetry and music titled Influences in October
2013, comprising poetry to a variety of musical genres including kwaito,
jazz, rnb, house, and maskanda. Tracks from the album have been played on
stations nationally and regionally, including stations such as Safm, Bushradio fm, Gagasi fm and Mgunggundlovu fm. He has appeared twice on local television and over ten times on South African radio. He has shared his art on line ups that include the likes of HHP, Mak Manaka, Napo Masheane, Croc E Moses, Natalie Chapman, Q Malewazi,, Thola Antamu and Buddy Wakefield.
He has had poetry published in Fidelities 2005, New Coin 2008, Kotaz 2011,
New Coin 2011, Graffitti Kolkata Broadside 2012, Anemone Sidecar 2012,
Botsotso 2013, Carapace 2014, New Coin January 2014 and December 2014, Uhlanga 2014, and the Sol Plaatjie 2014 anthology. He has had over 30 articles and book reviews featured in sites and publications such as the Natal Witness,
the Weekend Witness, Mindmapsa, Litnet, Books Live, to name a few. He has
been a part of festivals including the Midlands Literary Festival, the
Hilton Arts Festival, October 2014 the Poetry Africa Festival, and in May 2015 the Franschoek Literary Festival, sharing stages with a variety of cultural and social icons.
His performance style is distinguished both by the resonant and uniquely
deep frequency of his voice and the dynamic and highly musical presentation
of his poetry, creating a highly engaging and completely fresh style. The tone and voice of his poetry is dominated by a desire to liberate language from cliches and sloganeering, and create fresh patterns of perception and description, that mark him as a truly Pan African pioneering poetic maker.
He has been based most of his career in kwaZulu Natal but is now based in Swellendam where he has initiated a series of poetry and music events infusing and reinvigourating the town with fresh cultural life.
Youth CCK 