With expert, elegant and economical verse, Thungachi blends ancestral Catholic mysticism and ancient folk Hinduism to create new and essential portraits of modern South African-Indian identity and womanhood. Unflinching and meditative, the collection tracks the journeys, migrations and maturations of peoples, families and the self, all the while deftly innovating with form, language and style – ultimately marking Simon out as one of South Africa’s most unexpectedly excellent poetic debutantes.
“An ambitious and sophisticated collection that blends formal invention with deeply felt experience.” – Kobus Moolman
Francine Simon was born in Durban in 1990 to Indian Catholic parents. Her poems have been published widely in South African literary journals, such as New Contrast, New Coin, Aerodrome and Type/Cast, as well as three volumes of the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award Anthology.
Currently, she is a PhD candidate in the English department of Stellenbosch University.