Category Archives: Botswana

Moroka Moreri

Botswana No Comments

Moroka Moreri is a renowned Setswana oral poet who has penned several poetry books such as Motlhaolosa, Tshokele, Khuduela, Mmamowe, Sehutswelo and Thotse. His masterpiece Motlhaolosa was prescribed for junior schools and used in Cambridge examinations. Coupled with this talent is his immense skill of translation which was called upon in translating a mathematics textbook for primary schools. Moreri is also a renowned cultural activist whose poems have been extensively used by musicians on collaborative ventures.

Japhala “Aether” Gwangwa

Botswana No Comments

Aether, real name Japhala Gwangwa has had a fascination for music and creative writing since he was very, very young. At 18 months he had his first toy guitar (which he named “Fay Fay” after the George Michael song Faith), at 12 he decided he wanted to be in a band “as a guitarist or a drummer”, but he still passionately pursued creative writing, at 15 he said why not both, and started writing a book and got his first real guitar, all the while freestyle rapping on a whim.

From this point forth his love for writing and music exploded setting him further along the already blazing path toward his dreams where he taught himself the guitar, drums, the art of freestyle rap and spoken word as well as composing music digitally with the aid of his live instrumentation skills. Around the same time, he nurtured his passion for creative writing and after writing a several hundred page manuscript, started studying Sound Technology at Limkokwing Botswana.

As a performer, Aether is multifaceted. In 2008 he was rhythm guitarist and lead singer for “The Substance” an alternative rock band that went from playing in clubs and cafes to Woodstock Botswana in the course of one year. IN 2009/2010 he rapped, a lot, working with local artists and having a few songs on local and online radio. In 2010/11 he played drums for a popular reggae band while ‘session guitaring’ for artists who needed it. He sharpened his freestyle skills and spent time battling other rappers until he got bored of this and in 2012 he released a mix tape titled Memories of the Darkside, during this time he completed his Sound Technology diploma, passing with flying colours and getting a scholarship to continue his studies in Malaysia, where he acquired his Degree in Film and Television.

While he was in Malaysia he performed regularly. Of his regular performances one of his most memorable was at Urbanscapes Malaysia 2013.

In June 2014 he joined local superband the Contrabanditz which was made up of 5 solo artists united by a common cause.

In October 2014 he was invited by the World Islamic Economic Forum to Perform at the 7th annual MocaFEST in Dubai where he also performed at an event called ARTNIGHTS @ Gate Village, which is one of the most widely attended art exhibitions in Dubai every year.

In October 2015, he attend Maun International Poetry Festival with the Contrabanditz, as well as opening for Freshly Ground and Oliver Mtukudzi. In November Aether along with the Contrabanditz opened for Joss Stone at the Mascom Live Sessions.

Boasting a repertoire of conscious lyrics inspired by the Light. Aether sets out to inspire all he comes across, with the goal of lighting a fire in them, one that will cause ripples of Hope, Faith and Love to wash over a darkening world.

Tiro Sebina

Botswana No Comments

Tiro Sebina teaches courses in Literary Theory and Criticism at University of Botswana. He also coordinates (UB) Writers’ Workshop on Wednesday evenings. His poems appear in a number of anthologies and journals. He coaches Creative Writing on Friday afternoons at the Gaborone Public Library’s Children’s Section. Besides contributing occasional book reviews, he intermittently writes opinion columns in some newspapers in Botswana.

Ndi’Aphrykah

Botswana No Comments

Ndi’Aphrykah, born Morongoa Basadi Mosetlhi, is a young Motswana writer, performing artist and entrepreneur. Her interest in writing began in her early teens. Her works include poetry, short stories, novels & scripts.

Her involvement as a performer in local arts industry began in 2009 when she was casted for a role in Re Bina Mmogo Season II. In 2011, she found herself pursuant of the stage again, performing as a poet for Art of the Soul Organization’s Poison Poetry, an endeavour she has continued with to this day. From here, her passion for the arts would only grow further, fed by partaking in local productions including Passion Play I & II, The Maitisong Festival, Queer Shorts Festival Showcase, and most recently, The Maun International Arts Festival.

She is currently in the process of setting up a management and tax consultancy in order to be able to complete the requirements of being a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. She is also working on an anthology of poetry inspired by her time in the Delta and the remodel of her blog AmanteFatale.

On the performance side, she plans to frequent local productions as a performer and as a producer as well as begin to frequent international festivals around Africa.

Barolong Seboni

Botswana No Comments

Barolong Seboni was born in Botswana on the 27th of April 1957. He spent his early years of primary and secondary schooling in London, England (1966-1970), and was in the USA from 1984 to 1987, where he studied for his MA in English Literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was a teacher at the Mater Spei College, Francistown, Botswana (1978-1983). He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the English department at the University of Botswana.

Seboni has a long and fruitful experience in radio, television and print media, which started in 1985 when he gave several interviews on TV about his works as a student in the USA. Seboni has performed and recited his poetry in Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, India, England, Scotland, Ireland, Colombia, Italy and the USA.

Seboni is also co-founder of the University of Botswana Writers’ Workshop and the Writers’ Association of Botswana. He is the founding chairperson of the Petlo Literary Arts Trust, and founding editor of MAHUBE literary journal of the Writers’ Association of Botswana.

He toured the UK in 1990 as part of Poets on the Frontline. He was poet-in-residence at the Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh, Scotland in 1993, and Visiting Writer of the International Writers’ Program at the University of Iowa, USA in 2003.

Leungo Frank

Botswana No Comments

Leungo Frank is a poet based in Gaborone Botswana.

Nompendulo Shabangu

Botswana No Comments

Nompendulo Shabangu, a.k.a. Nomps, recalls writing poems for her mother for Mothers’ Day from the time that she was in primary school. She has been blessed with phenomenal English teachers all the way from pre-school. Nomps is a writer of short stories, poetry, and she also has her own blog.

Nomps is a Motswana, yet she was raised in South Africa. All of her works are inspired by God. Her writings are about God, love, and justice; three topics that are inseparable. She believes that through her writings, poems, and performances, she gets to be an advocate, a voice for the voiceless and to also offer up hope to the hopeless. She aims to raise awareness about the social ills and current affairs, and in turn mobilize her audience to proaction. She also aims to spread love, and to help instill purpose.

Nomps is a member of Poetavango Spoken Word poetry, and she performs at their events. She has performed at the 2014 Maun International Arts Festival, and the Barona Gratitude Gala in Maun in May 2015. Even though Nomps performs in English, she also writes Zulu and Xhosa pieces.

Leshie Lovesong

Botswana No Comments

Leshie Lovesong, recently resident in Cincinnati, Ohio, (USA) is a Motswana poet, singer and song writer. Her stage journey began in 2007 as a member of ExodusLivePoetry!, a pioneering poetry movement in Botswana.

Her first studio recorded EP, Sunflowers and Strawberries was launched and released at the Queen City Poetry Slam in Cincinnati, Ohio where Leshie was a feature artist. The release of S&S follows Leshie’s second solo event, BREATHE: A Night of Poetry and Music, which was staged in Gaborone, Botswana in August 2014. BREATHE is the second part of a 3 part “Love Letters”, written, directed, produced and performed by Leshie, accompanied by other artists. The first part, FALLING: A Night of Poetry and Music, was staged in Gaborone, at Moving Space Theatre, Maru-A-Pula School on March 7th 2014. The show sold out, and got extensive media coverage. The last installment is expected to be staged in 2015. The trilogy follows a lover, on her journey towards finding herself, exploring the luminal spaces, very rarely confronted, including the impact of past experiences, and how they shape one. Leshie has also performed adaptations of the trilogy in the Maitisong Festival 2014 and 2015, held in Gaborone.

In 2013, Leshie performed at the INTWASA KoBulawayo Festival in September, and at the Maun International Poetry Festival in October. Her EP, released recently, was recorded in 2013, by Heaven Sent Productions.

2012 saw Leshie co-write a workshopped poetry play, “The Bedspread”, which was launched in Gaborone, and later performed at the annual “Sex Actually” festival in Johannesburg, South Africa. As a social and environmental activist, Leshie travelled to Luanda, Angola and Rundu, Namibia in mid 2012, workshopping scripts and performing plays aimed raising awareness on the importance of the sustainable development of the Okavango River. As a poet, Leshie’s poetry was inevitably featured in the plays.

Between 2012 and 2013, Leshie acted in various other theatre productions, including pantomimes of Pinocchio and Beauty and the Beast, in both of which she played lead roles; and Passion Plays I and II, where she explored even more challenging and provocative roles which explored the range of her capacity as an artist, and taught her discipline.

Her work has been featured in ‘Dreaming is a Gift for Me’, an audio anthology, produced by SAUTI Artist Administration; as well as in ‘Awakening’, a compilation of affirmations.

Leshie’s written work has been featured in the Womb edition of Prairie Schooner.

Lesego Nswahu Nchunga (Leshie Lovesong)/ @leshielovesong/

Karabo Mosimanegape

Botswana No Comments

Raised in a musical family, the poet grew up singing in a traditional Setswana choral choir where the inspiration to perform for the masses was natured and harnessed through leading some songs and doing the poetry to fuse with the music as is part of dikwaere.

He then evolved through the inspiration from his mum and listening to different types of music like reggae, rock & roll, kwaito, hip hop and for the most part the ability to appreciate different art forms.

The artist first performed solo at the age of eleven at a kgotla gathering in Tutume village in Botswana doing a welcoming piece for the dignitaries at the gathering. He then evolved to take part in different shows all the way through to high school.

And in 2005 he started documenting his written work in a compilation called Smoking Poetree volume 1 with a collection of more than a hundred poems and short stories to be published. The artist also works as a freelance copywriter for marketing and design agencies and he does special performances on corporate and social events.

He continues to rock stages with his simple and straight forward and easily palatable to all yet thought provoking and highly entertaining poems. His work is mostly aligned towards activism, awareness and Africanism. With an excellent standing ovation record of 11 consecutive shows and counting he has been pointed as a favorite poet by many poetry lovers locally and internationally.

Tlotlo Candice Kenalemang

Botswana No Comments

Tlotlo Candice Kenalemang was born in Gaborone, Botswana. She grew up in Molepolole but lived most of her teenage years in Abuja, Nigeria. She started writing lyrics for songs and later after something traumatic happened she started writing poetry, short stories and long stories. Her poetry is all based on her experiences and she tries to write as often as possible.

Thato Ntshabele

Botswana No Comments

Thato is a poet, currently working as a copywriter at an ad agency. He is also co-founder and current leader of the Poets Passport Organization in Botswana, a literary arts movement aimed at promoting literacy among the youth.

Thato started writing poetry when he was 10 years old, but started performing publicly and competing in slams when he was 18. He was active during his university years having won the Kuala Lumpor Slam Championship several times and lastly becoming the AsiaPac Champion in 2012 before returning to Botswana. In Botswana he has performed at 100,000 Poets for Change Event, and at the Poetavango Maun International Arts Festival.

One of Thato’s poems, Asphyxia was published in the inaugural edition of Readings at Readings, an anthology of Malaysian writers.

Thato is passionate about developing young writers and helping writers find their voice in their mother tongue.

Priscah Katlholo

Botswana No Comments

Priscah Katlholo joined Poetavango Spoken Word Poetry in the early months of 2010. This dynamic and groundbreaking move was sparked by her friends who saw ‘the dirt I made on every paper I laid my hands on’. These raw squiggles translated as poetry to Priscah’s friends, who urged her to nurture and develop the art form. Thus, Priscah joined the Botswana’s biggest poetry movement and adopted the nom de plume Priskath.

She was born and raised in Maun, under the wings of her grandparents. Together with her cousins at the cattle post, they would gather around the fire and listen to her grandmother‘s great stories. Her grandfather used to poetically praise virtually everything on which their cultural sustenance depended, from rain to cattle. Though unbeknownst to her, those were the first seeds to be planted on her fertile literary farm.

When Priskath started school she was already polished. Needless to say, she excelled in compositions and literature. Her writings are inspired by God and His art. She mostly writes about gender based issues but also touches on other critical life themes depending on what inspires her at that particular moment. As a young woman who adores the music and the power of the lyrics within, Priskath also gets her inspiration from well written Reggae and Country music lyrics.

Her poetry expedition turned into a joyful adventure as she performed in every event that was organized by Poetavango. Being given the platform to perform in international events was indeed an honour and reinforcement of her talent. She performed in all the editions of the Maun International Arts Festival (MIAF) and in the Hundred Thousand Poets for Change (100TPC).

Priskath yearns for the growth of poetry in Botswana. Unless and until poetry has reached the apex of its progression, she will not retire from the written and spoken word.
She says in her own words; ‘The word is of utmost importance. It was there at the very beginning and promised to be there at the very end, who then can deny the importance of the word. We poets and other writers need to ensure that the word reaches the masses in every way possible. It’s our God given duty.’

Priscah Katlholo holds an Associate Degree in Public Relations from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology.

Mandisa Mabuthoe

Botswana No Comments

Mandisa Mabuthoe is a poet, play writer and vocalist from Gaborone, Botswana. Her work has been featured in Voiceworks Magazine, Prairie Schooner Online Journal, and Dreaming is a Gift for Me, an audio collection of Botswana poets.

In 2014 she released her first EP, I Used to Be a Dragonfly.

She has performed on several international stages including Federation Square in Melbourne, Shoko Festival in Harare, Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), and Maun International Festival of the Arts. She also facilitates creative writing workshops in Gaborone.

She is currently a member of a six piece band, The Contrabanditz.

Kgotla Molefe

Botswana No Comments

Kgotla Molefe is a poet, dramatic artist and Philanthropist. In 2010 he co-founded Art of the Soul Organization, which is a youth based Arts NGO. In his career as an artist he has diligently crossed platforms from theatre to poetry stage working with organizations like Maitisong arts festival, Debswana, The US Embassy to Botswana and Aldo Brincat Productions to build communities through Art.

In future he intends to strategically develop the arts using his business savvy and artistic inclination to build both the Arts industry in Botswana and the people that live within it. Currently he is director at a local business consultancy and balances this with his arts career to develop himself as an all round artist and social entrepreneur.

Thato Angela Chuma

Botswana No Comments

Thato Angela Chuma is a Motswana singer, poet and writer. Her poetry has featured in literary magazines such as Saraba Magazine, Brittle Paper, Strange Horizons, The Stare’s Nest and The Kalahari Review.

Nametso Dorothy Phonchi

Botswana No Comments

Born 1990, Nametso Dorothy Phonchi, affectionately known to her audience as “Poetess Phopho’’, was born and raised in Lobatse, Botswana. She is a BA Sociology and Environmental Science graduate from the University of Botswana. She is currently a Barclays- F.G Mogae 2014 scholar, pursuing a Master of Science in Environmental Economics stream at the University of Botswana. Because of her diverse nature, she is currently an intermediate level student at the Confucius Institute at the University of Botswana studying Mandarin Chinese, also pursuing a Post Graduate Diploma in French Language through the AMITY UNIVERSITY e-network learning programme.
As part of giving back to the society, she has volunteered with organizations such as Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA), Humana People to People Botswana and Bird Life International Botswana.
She is a spoken word artist and a published poet, a Christian woman, a mentor, and a multilingual African child. She is the current Publicity Manager of Poetry Society-University of Botswana. Her writing and work emanates from the need to shouting the inner voice, speaking untold stories and voicing out stories of the gospel. She started performing poetry at the age of 16, at social celebrations. Her devotion to pen and paper elevated her to new platforms by later reciting weekly at the UB writer’s workshop, Poetry Society Wednesdays, and monthly at ‘Soul Poetry’ and ‘Poets Passport’ at Gaborone National Museum.
She has since then performed in poetry events such as the International Women’s day poetry event 2012, hosted by Alliance Francaise, the 1st and 2nd annual Multilingual Poetry Festival in November 2012 and 2013, gracing both events with multilingual poems and a Chinese song. She was a team member in the Tshwetso Poetry and Photography project, a joint project by the Botswana Society for the Arts and South East Entertainment to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in December 2013 to February 2014. She also performed at the Poetry against Poverty 2014, a charity event by Botswana artists and Angelous Society. She performed at the 1st Word live 2014 Gaborone hosted by Drea Chuma. The Poet has joined hands with other spoken word poets and Ann Gollifer, for a painting and poetry project themed ‘OMANG’ at Sophi Lalonde Art gallery in February 2015. She recently, she graced the Maitisong Festival 2015 at Thapong Visual arts Center and at the closing ceremony in Molapo Piazza.
Her writings kills were recognized in November 2013, scooping the first prize in a Chinese Poetry competition organized by the Confucius Institute at University of Botswana. She was awarded 4th world-wide prize in the WINDOWS TO CHINA & WINDOW OF SHANGHAI WRITING CONTEST 2012 (Shanghai get together 2012). In June 2015 three of her Poems where published on The Kalahari Review, an international online journal where African stories are told by African writers.
A performance she made at the Youth Arts and Aids festival open mic in recognition of the Month of Youth against AIDS March 2013 was later described in a local newspaper (Mmegi) column as rather ‘profound’. She has also been published in local News- Papers such as Mmegi Monitor and The Global Post.
Whether hated or loved, her poems will always be remembered for drawing inspiration for the old and young, black and white, rich or poor. She is mostly passionate about God, love, music, women and children and society which is where most of her poems draw from. Her poetry is inspired by rather seeing and hearing on a daily basis. With her book and pens, she aspires to lead future generations with poetry before her journey of lives comes to an end.
Often times she gets questions of why and how she writes and she has answered in her poem…

Gomolemo Motsamai

Botswana No Comments

Gomomlemo Motsamai is a Botswana based poet part of the thriving literary scene emerging in the influence of the Exodus Live Poets generation.

A regular fixture at Thapong Visual Arts Centre’s Motswrapoetry & Poets Passport: both poetry events that celebrate the growing spoken word culture in the city of Gaborone. This newly minted “upcoming” poet has performed at: the 2014 Maitisong Poetry Festival Slam; to which he was a finalist; and at the United Café III Poetry and Soul Slam Up to which he was Slam Champion.

Gomolemo Motsamai is also a resident contributor at the : a pan-africanist website aimed at the empowerment and progressive discussion of the African narrative and dissolution.

Letang Selepe

Botswana No Comments

There are days when Letang Selepe wakes up feeling like a ripe and wise 50 year old, and other days a scared and confused 16 year old girl. She is actually a 28 year old Tswana woman, from a small village called Ramokgonami. She spent most of her pre high school years in a small mining town called Selebi-Phikwe. Lived in Zimbabwe for a good 4 years, and dwelled in Francistown and Gaborone thereafter. Lived in the USA for a magical year, where she met amazing people from all over the world. She came back home, yearning to write again.

She currently resides in Maun, and it is here where she stopped caging in her emotions and let them roam free on paper.

Poetry captivates you, in the now, it move’s you between different worlds. It is for this reason that she was drawn to writing, poetry was a path to healing, a path to acceptance. Most of her poetry stems from her own reality.

Kopanang Tito

Botswana No Comments

Kopanang Tito lives in Kweneng District, Botswana. He is the author of several Setswana poetry collection published by Macmillan. He usually performs at community events, weddings, funerals and cooperative shows. He has been the Thamaga constituency regional champion poetry for the past three years. He is also the 2015 national champion for the poetry category.

Thato Molosi

Botswana No Comments

Thato Molosi, or Mr T as he’s known for his poetry, is a young man who doesn’t have a long history in performance poetry, yet his power on stage resembles that of international heavyweights. Living among some of Botswana’s great poets and performers, Thato rose to the occasion and started writing evocative and gripping poems that made him one of the people’s favourites.

Precious Molatedi

Botswana No Comments

Precious Molatedi was born in the village of Goodhope in the far south of the country of Botswana. Performance arts had always been her ‘thing’ since early age. While in secondary school, Precious was an active member of the drama club, within which she recited her poetry. Coming to live in Maun has opened her eyes and granted her the wish to become a full-fledge poet as she met the local wordsmiths and started learning more about the written and spoken word.

TJ Dema

Botswana No Comments

TJ Dema is a Botswana based poet who runs SAUTI, an events, arts and performance management organization. She was the Chairperson of The Writers Association of Botswana from 2010 to 2012 and a founding member (alumni) of Botswana’s acclaimed Exoduslivepoetry! collective, who coordinated Botswana’s sole annual poetry festival between 2004 and 2009.

A 2005/06 participant in the British Council’s Crossing Borders project, she has since participated in a number of their initiatives including the 2007/08 Power in the Voice(PIV) initiative as mentor to the PIV national champions.

In 2010 she was guest writer for the University of Warwick’s International Gateway for Gifted Youth program. In 2008 she was in India for the Delhi International Festival of the Arts, and in 2010 she was a main stage act at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), Shakespeare and co’s Festivalandco in France as well as the World Wide Words festival in Denmark. In 2011 she was part of the Poetry Africa tour, a 5 city Southern African initiative of the University of Kwazulu Natal’s Center for Creative Arts. She is part of a bi-continental, multi country eclectic ensemble called Sonic Slam Chorus who debuted their poetry infused soundscapes at HIFA 2011 and returned in 2012. Recently she participated in a series of events linked to the London Cultural Olympiad.

Between August and November 2012 I was based out of Iowa City as one of the International Writing Program writers-in-residence.

Katlego K Kol-Kes

Botswana No Comments

Katlego K Kol-Kes is a 2015 Centre for African Cultural Excellence Writivist, Trans* ARTivist, writer, musician, educator and theatre producer. She is founder of the Queer Shorts Showcase Festival, “Queer Me Out” blog, and a 2013/14 Best of Botswana “Performing Arts” Artist honouree. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community.

Kol-Kes is a WITS University BA Dramatic Arts Honours graduate. Her writing appears in the Kalahari Review, Peolwane Magazine, The Washington Blade, Afropunk.com and EliteDaily.com.

kkolkes.wix.com/kkolkes

Mmakgosi Ophadile Anita Tau

Botswana No Comments

Mmakgosi Ophadile Anita Tau was born in  1989 in Botswana.
Her first poem was published in 1999, for a school magazine. In 2007 she won a poetry competition at the Monash University, and after this triumph she was asked to help head the Poetry Association of Monash. This role helped her secure  many opportunities such as, her performance at the Women’s Day Celebrations.

During her time in South Africa she performed at open mics held in places like House of Nsako in Bree, Shivas in Newtown and in Johannesburg.

Mmakgosi was featured on the Word Of Mouth-Audio compilation, and she is a member of the Poets Circle Movement and MO Scripts.

MO Scripts is a group advocating for growth and awareness in Botswana literature. they
have four mobile applications published for Android, Symbian, Blackberry and Java enabled phones and they can be downloaded free of charge. To date, more than 250 000 people have downloaded their app. For more on the applications please check out Facebook page MO Scripts: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MO-Scripts/338887719546526?fref=ts

Morongwa Matsau

Botswana No Comments

Known on stage as Messenger, Morongwa is a 30 year old  born in Maun, Botswana. He is a trained and professional accountant. Messenger’s interest in poetry started in the year 2000. However, the realisation of becoming a full-fleshed writer and performer began 9 years later when he joined Poetavango Spoken Word Poetry.

Messenger’s influence comes from everything he sees, touches and smells. He derives inspiration from the creatures he meets – in reality and in dreams and the sounds and voices he hears.

He has performed at all installations of the Maun international Poetry Festival. He also took part in the 100 Thousand Poets for Change, Maun 2012.

Morongwa Matsau is currently working on a collection of short stories and a novel manuscript.

Keneilwe Idle Mohutsiwa

Botswana No Comments

Keneilwe is a web and mobile application developer, poet and rapper from the town of Kanye in Southern Botswana. He’s one of Botswana’s sprouting talents. This twenty four year old has performed at various open-mics and school talent shows in Gaborone and Kanye.

In November 2010, Keneliwe performed in a poetry event dubbed Unfolding the Scrolls: Chronicles of the Poets – Part 1 organized and hosted by Poetavango Spoken Word Poetry in Maun, Botswana.

Legodile “Dredd X” Seganabeng

Botswana No Comments

Legodile Seganabeng hails from the village of Tonota, Botswana. Seganabeng is a recorded poet, spoken word performer, published writer, guitarist and fine artist.

His interest in writing began during his high school days. He holds a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Fine Art from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He also holds a Diploma in Creative Writing. He is currently a senior secondary school teacher of Art & Design with specialties in printmaking, photography and graphics. As a freelance writer, he has published several articles in local and international newspapers and magazines.

Seganabeng is founder and chairperson of the Maun based Poetavango Spoken Word Poetry movement. With his Poetavango team, he has brought to the country an annual poetry and literature gala dubbed the Maun International Poetry Festival. In 2010, he won the Bessie Head Literature Award in the short story category. The book, The Moon has Eyes and Other Stories was published in 2011 by Pentagon Publishers, Botswana. On performance stages, Seganabeng is known exclusively as Dredd X. His poetry album, Poetic Mediations, is due for release soon.

Other than performances in local festivals, Seganabeng performed at the Jozi Spoken Word Fest in 2008, Johannesburg. Before then, he regularly performed with the Timbila collective in Johannesburg between 2002 and 2004. Alongside a renowned South African poet Zwesh Fi Kush, Dredd X has performed at the Oppikoppi Festival in Pretoria 2003. He also curtain raised for the Jamaican poet Mutabaruka and was part of a symposium facilitated by Linton Kwesi Johnson (UK) and Jessica Care Moore (USA) in Newtown, South Africa, in 2005.

In early 2012, his poem Effects of Goodbye was featured, alongside poems by 13 other Batswana poets, in a prestigious literary journal, Prairie Schooner, a publication out of the University of Nebraska.

Ponatshegelo Katlholo

Botswana No Comments

On stage he is known as Mista Poke. At 24, he is the youngest member of the Poetavango Collective. Mista Poke was born and bred in the village of Maun, Botswana. He studied accounting and business management.

Mista Poke wrote his first poem when he was 16 years old. His main influence came from listening to the music and poetry of the South African Mzwakhe Mbuli. He is a fanatic of African indigenous ways of life, and when he writes his poetry, his pan-African views and inclinations can be seen. He also writes heavily on socio-political issues.

Mista Poke is a spirited and energetic performer with a voice a highly commanding voice. He has performed in various public activities in his home town of Maun. He also performed at all Poetavango shows including the international poetry festivals.