Winner of the 2019 Pat Lowther Memorial Award

Shortlisted for the 2019 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award

Ekke is a dialectic, emphatic form of ek, denoting the first person singular in Afrikaans. Multilingually inflected, Klara du Plessis’ first collection of poetry explores the multiplicity of self through language, occupying a liminal space between South Africa and Canada. A sequence of visceral, essay-like long poems, du Plessis’ writing straddles the lyrical and intellectual, traversing landscapes and fine arts canvases. Ekke is a watershed debut from one of Canada’s most exciting young voices.

Purchase: Palimpsest Press, 2018.

Scholarly Essays

“Beyond America: Multilingualism, Translation, and Asymptote.” Ellen Jones. Literature in Motion: Translating Multilingualisms Across the Americas. Columbia University Press, 2022.

“In-between Spaces in Klara du Plessis’ Ekke: Identity, Language, and Art.” Francine Maessen, Bibi Burger, Mathilda Smit. Tydskrif vir Letterkunde 59:1, 2022.

“Equivalence, Excess, Ekke: Multilingual Poetics.” Joe DeLong. Midwest Modern Language Association, 53:1, 2020.

Reviews

“Multiple Identity: Meertaligheid van het ‘ik’.” Yves T’Sjoen. LitNet, 19 July 2019.

“Partners in Crime: Sabotaging English with Klara du Plessis.” Dominique Bernier-Cormier. Arc Poetry Magazine, Summer 2019.

“Klara du Plessis. Ekke.” Carl Watts. Arc Poetry Magazine, Summer 2019.

“A Review of Klara du Plessis’ Ekke.” Zoe Imani Sharpe. Vallum: Contemporary Poetry, 15:2, 2018.

“Therefore Therein All There Is Is There: A Review of Klara du Plessis’ Ekke."“ Charles Gonsalves. CV2, 10 December 2018.

“Stones Skipping Across Water: On Klara du Plessis’ Ekke.” Anna Geisler. PRISM International, 16 August 2018.

“Eking Out an (Un)Common Language.” Domenica Martinello. Montreal Review of Books, Summer 2018.