(poet, storyteller, activist)
My name is February.
My name is February.
I was sold
my breasts, private parts and eyes
my brain
are not mine yet
like the São José
I am ruined
often sank by another storm
no Jesus walking on water for me.
My name is February
I am searching for the rod of the steering wheel
Because the family lies at the bottom
The child stitched to a mother’s dress
Mother’s hand locked in father’s fist
How deep down are they lying, on which side?
My name is February
auctioned, sold, the highest bidder
disposed of my real name
paid no compensation
for that, my name, stolen, sunked
underwater it still lies
with the family
wrecks of the São José
ran aground by a wind
furious waves that decided
the future of the loot
smashing the profit against the embankment.
My name is February
the Masbieker on the São José
that’s how I was called
when my mother tongue of here came into being
when tongues started to form a bond
and letters started walking freely
in a desperate attempt at survival and hope
that forces should not strip this identity too
I became the Masbieker, only a name
born under a different sky
and deeply filled with shame.
My name is February
I rearranged this landscape.
my hands wove the patterns of the vineyards
my feet pressed the grapes
and I was paid with the wine.
I carry Alcohol-Foetal Syndrome children on my back.
My name is February.
I still march on the eve of December one,
I walk the cobblestones of this city
when I cry in desperation,
“remember the emancipation of the slaves!”
My name is February.
two hundred years after the São José
I was given the vote,
they said I was free
But do you see how often I am submerged,
weighed down?
I am the sunken, the soiled,
forgotten
and yet memory will not leave me!
My name is February,
stranded at Third beach
but no one comes to look for me,
no one waves from the dunes,
no bridges back to Mozambique.
My name is February.
I will be resurrected,
brought to the surface
unshackled, unchained, unashamed!
My name is February!
Dr Diana Ferrus (29 August 1953 – 30 January 2026) was a South African writer, poet and storyteller whose work spanned multiple decades and addressed both personal and collective histories. Born in Worcester, in what was then the Cape Province, she began writing poetry at a young age and developed a body of work in Afrikaans and English that engaged with social, political and historical themes throughout her life.
Ferrus is best known internationally for “I’ve Come to Take You Home”, a poem she wrote in 1998 for Sarah Baartman an indigenous South African woman taken to Europe under false pretences in the 19th century and exhibited as a curiosity. That poem became a catalyst in the long campaign to return Baartman’s remains to South Africa. It was translated and incorporated into legal texts in France, which enabled the repatriation of the remains in 2002, and Ferrus accompanied the South African delegation when Baartman’s remains were brought home.
Her career included extensive work mentoring and empowering young and emerging writers. At the University of the Western Cape, she led workshops, encouraged creative expression, and offered guidance to writers who used literature as a form of social commentary. Ferrus also played a foundational role in several literary organisations, including the Afrikaans Skrywersvereniging (ASV), Bush Poets, and Women in Xchains, promoting the voices of writers across languages and communities.
Ferrus received multiple awards and recognitions during her lifetime: the inaugural Mbokodo Award for poetry in 2012, honours from government and cultural bodies for her contributions to literature and women’s empowerment, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch in 2022. Her published works include Ons Komvandaan, I’ve Come to Take You Home, and Die Vrede Kom Later.
Following her death at age 72 on 30 January 2026, tributes came from cultural institutions, literary communities, and political leaders. President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted her deep understanding of the human condition and her role in restoring dignity through words, noting that her voice “painted our nation in prose that awakened us to the essence of our humanity.” Ferrus was widely acknowledged as a cultural icon whose work shaped conversations on justice, heritage, and reconciliation.
Ferrus authored three poetry collections: Ons Komvandaan; I’ve Come to Take You Home (published in 2010); and Die Vrede Kom Later (published in 2019) and The Boy Who Loved to Dance (c. 2025) – A children’s book about ballet dancer Johaar Mosaval, written in both English and Afrikaans
Ferrus co-edited and published a collection of stories, Slaan vir my ’n masker, Vader (a collection about fathers and daughters, published around 2006). Ferrus’s poems have also appeared in anthologies and journals, and her work is often included in school curricula.
Selected Achievements and Honours