FLUENT IN THE LANGUAGE OF BURIAL

103pp., paperback, Dryad Press, Cape Town, 2026

ISBN: 9781049280103

An intimate poetry collection that asks what it means to survive within systems that demand silence, even erasure. Through themes of queer identity, gender-based violence, inherited shame, religion, family and Black women’s embodiment, Thando Fuze’s poems explore the emotional and social architectures that teach vulnerable groups of people to bury parts of themselves.

"Thando Fuze offers is many deaths. big and small. of the body and the self. the words are knives and song - as wide as love and a minor as dislike. i am small and must grow up, not knowing i will survive ... into woman. in this country. into this book. Fuze's words follow me into the night. this haunting gift of poetry." vangile gantsho

Thando Fuze is a spoken word artist, writer, curator and author of the self-published chapbook Conversations with The Human. Born and raised in Durban, in 2016 she founded the SHEfted Minds project, a platform for female artists to showcase their creative works. She also works with various schools and colleges as a peer educator, setting up poetry platforms as safe, transformative spaces for young people to reflect on their often difficult social realities.