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Poetra Asantewa, Ghanaian Poet and writer has expressed her disappointment with the media for only booking her for their shows on International Women’s Day and International Poetry Day arguing she is seemingly not known outside the aforementioned days
During Joy FM’s entertainment discussion on Twitter Spaces hosted by Kwame Dadzie, Poetra Asantewa said one of the ways of helping promote poetry is for the media to make it a priority and not consider it as any other thing else.
An aggrieved Poetra Asantewa asserted “In terms of commercial avenues, the media has a part to play. There are two times that I am called by media companies in this country; and that is International Poetry Day and Women’s Day. It’s like every other time, I don’t exist. Poets don’t exist, women don’t exist”
She continued by revealing her decision to rescind any offers made to her during the celebration of Poetry “So I have made a commitment that whenever anybody calls me for International Poetry Day, I decline. Because I want you to remember that I exist after International Poetry Day. Same for International Women’s Day”
She concluded by adding one could only be a poet in a country that has structures to accommodate people who do poetry “You can only be a poet if your country cares about you. And if your country cares about you to think of how will a poet thrive from the very minute they are in school, how will they fit into an economy regardless of what economy they are in or field”
Poetry remains one of the underappreciated industries in Ghana and although it has improved over the years, there is still work to be done
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