Selome Payne, better known by her pseudonym Flow Wellington, is an author, performer, publisher and Artpreneur. Her artistic journey began in her hometown Port Elizabeth where she flourished as a poet and stage performer. Since relocating to Johannesburg in 2011, she established her publishing company Poetree Publications and has helped numerous authors (nationally and internationally) publish their original works in poetry, children’s literature and autobiography.
Flow is known for her narrative poetry, taking the reader/listener on an introspective path while depicting stories of people and places in a melodic manner. Over the years, she has paired her poetry with various music forms including hip hop, jazz and classical. Her performances have showcased her writing skill and artistic presence in numerous forms of performance art.
Artist’s Repertoire
Flow Wellington began writing in 1996 and has since been published locally and internationally through a number of mediums including Badilisha Poetry X-Change, Poetry Potion, Poetry Institute of Africa, Atlanta Review, and anthologies such as Within and Beyond Shores VII, and South Africa’s first jazz anthology To Breathe into Another Voice. Her first collection was published in 2011, called The Undelivered Score and will soon release Gau-Trained: In Retrospect.
She spent a few years as part of the Eastern Cape label, TruSight Music and also performed at a number of corporate events for local government and the private sector. Flow also curated the Eastern Cape Book Festival 2014 & 2015.
Other performances include:
Northern Arts Festival
2010 Kenako Music Festival (Port Elizabeth)
Grahamstown Arts Festival
Phenomenal Women (2015 Woman’s Day Event)
Jozi House of Poetry
Eastern Cape Book Festival
The Orbit (with Bokani and Steve Dyer)
Books Published by Poetree Publications:
The Undelivered Score – Flow Wellington (2011)
Uni-Verse-Al Anthology – Ebook (2012)
Breaking Rules in Poetry – Phumlani Mhlanga (2013)
Never Give Up – Haroldene Tshienda (2015)
Beweeg Berg (Mountain Move) – Ricardo Korkee (2015)
Eastern Cape Book Festival Anthology (2015)
Salt Water – Raphael d’Abdon (2016)
Seaweed Sky – Sarah Godsell (2016)
Koffee Blessed – Yaya Sorrel (2016)
Poems Packed for Travel – Brian Walter (2016)
Psych Ward Blues – Hazel Tobo (2016)
Gesproke Woord – Eugene Damons (2017)
Through The Single Gal’s Looking Glass Anthology (2017)
Gau-Trained – Flow Wellington (2017)