Ayanda Billie works as a quality inspector in the motor industry in Uitenhage. His first book of poems was Avenues Of My Soul (2006). He is influenced by the haunting voices of South African poets like Ingoapele Mandigoane and Mafika Gwala, European poets like Lorca and Pessoa , and jazz music, particularly Zim Ngqawana. His isiXhosa poems record the chilling hours of the modern worker on the factory floor.
“Kela Griot is a creative, radio head, writer, poet and lover of humanity. She has been writing for more than 15 years but it wasn’t until four years ago that she was drawn out of her shell to set foot on a stage.
She has been on numerous platforms since: the Basadi Jam With A Purpose, Writers Lounge, Kagiso Arts Expo, Art by Night, The Bangkok Sundays, Snapshots, Restorative Justice Women’s Fair, Show Face, Poetic Joint and Fanatic Poetry Sessions to name a few. She has gone on to be one of the founding members of the New Age Poetry Movement, as well as co-founder and host of the Juiced Poetry Sessions.
She describes herself as deep empath and suspects that’s why she is a medium for poetry and other stuff. She hopes to help humanity art itself back to love, one poem and outlandish creative disruption at a time.”
Twitter: @KelaGriot
The name, Tshepo Molefe. Also known as Blackhole on stage. This pseudo name is a reflection of who and what I am, from my short nature (which I inherited from my mother) to the anger that I bring on stage and the hatred I am still trying to extinguish with my pen.
I write to change perceptions and hopefully to inspire change in a person’s life and view on things such as love, what poetry is and the misconception of man being invulnerable. I feel like as poets, it’s our duty to not only just write to be dope or to compete, but we need to touch life with our craft and build a better society through our wordsmith. That is what my art aims to do, and one day will.
Professor Keorapetse Willie Kgositsile, considered one of South Africa’s most distinctive poetic voices since the l960s, is South Africa’s National Poet Laureate. Gwendolyn Brooks, the late poet laureate of Illinois, said of Kgositsile’s work almost forty years ago:
I would say that he is a ‘master’, if it were not for my belief that no one ‘masters’ anything, that each finds or makes his candle, then tries to see by the guttering light. Willie has made a good candle. And Willie has good eyes.
Kgositsile left South Africa in 1961 as one of the first young cadres of the African National Congress (ANC) instructed to do so by the leadership of the national liberation movement. While doing his MFA at Columbia University in 1969 he started teaching literature and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. He has also taught at a number of other universities and colleges in the USA, including: Queens College, Bennett College, State University of New York at Stonybrook, University of Denver, Wayne State University, New School for Social Research, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In 1975 he returned to Africa and taught at a number of universities, including: the universities of Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Fort Hare.
Professor Kgositsile has worked in various departments and structures of the ANC, both above and underground. He was one of the founding members of the ANC’s Education Department (1977), and the Department of Arts and Culture (1982). He was also a founding member of the ANC Veterans League in 2009 and was a member of the ANC National Centenary Task Team.
He was Special Adviser to former Ministers of Arts and Culture, Mr. Z. Pallo Jordan and Mr. Paul Mashatile.
Kgositsile is one of the most widely published South African poets. His work has been translated into many languages. He has been the recipient of a number of literary awards, among them: the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize; the Harlem Cultural Council Poetry Award; the Conrad Kent Rivers Memorial Poetry Award; the Herman Charles Bosman Prize. In 2008 he was awarded the National Order of Ikhamanga: Silver (OIS).
BOOKS PUBLISHED:
THIS WAY I SALUTE YOU – Kwela Books & Snailpress, Cape Town, 2004
IF I COULD SING – Kwela Books & Snailpress, Cape Town, 2002
TO THE BITTER END – Third World Press, Chicago, 1995
APPROACHES TO POETRY WRITING – Third World Press, Chicago, 1994
THE PRESENT IS A DANGEROUS PLACE TO LIVE – Third World Press, Chicago, 1993
WHEN THE CLOUDS CLEAR – COSAW Publications, Johannesburg, 1990
FREEWORD (with Katiyo, Davis, & Rydstrom,eds.) – Writers’ Bookmachine, Stockholm, 1983
HEARTPRINTS – Schwifstinger Galerie-Verlag, 1980
PLACES AND BLOODSTAINS – Achebe Publications, San Francisco, 1976
A CAPSULE COURSE IN BLACK POETRY WRITING (with G. Brooks,
H. Madhubuti, D. Randall, eds.) – Broadside Press, Detroit, 1975
THE WORD IS HERE (ed.) – Doubleday, New York, 1973
MY NAME IS AFRIKA – Doubleday, New York, 1971
FOR MELBA – Third World Press, Chicago, 1970
SPIRITS UNCHAINED – Broadside Press, Detroit, 1969
Mandi Poefficient Vundla is a writer and spoken word ambassador, born in Soweto, Johannesburg.
She made her debut in the world of competitive poetry in 2011. Since then, she has appeared at different events on various stages, including the State Theater’s Night of the Poets, and the Jozi Book Fair, where she was part of the protest poetry panel discussion hosted by Poetry Potion, a monthly online journal that profiles poetry communities.
Vundla has shared the stage with Myesha Jenkins, Natalia Molebatsi, Lebo Mashile, Phillippa
Yaa De Villiers, Napo Masheane, Afurakan, Tumelo Khoza, Keisha Monique Simons, UK’s Yrsa
Daley-Ward, Chanelle Gabriels (U.S), Joshua Bennett (U.S), Busiswa qulu, Kabomo Vilakazi , Neo Muyanga, Muta Baruka, Tumi of the Volume and many more. She has also performed alongside the legendary Pops Mohammed and opened the stage for Ian Kamau (U.S), career highlights include her appearance on e-tv’s breakfast show, Khaya fm, Power fm, Sunrise, 702, Radio 2000, shiznizz, and opening for Tedx Johannesburg, she went on to co-hosted Tedx Soweto.
Performances Include:
-Action aid’s 5 year country strategy launch
-KPMG women’s breakfast
-The screening of the ‘Girl Rising’ documentary, hosted by Intel Africa.
-Commemorating 20 years of the Native land act in Nasrec .
-Bertha Gxowa Memorial Lecture
-Smac Gallery
Features:
-The Citizen
-The Star
-True Love Magazine’s September edition, where she dedicated a poem to South Africa for
Heritage month.
-Twelve + One Botsotso Anthology featuring Jo’burg poets
-News Day [Zim]
Festivals:
-Poetry Africa
-Arts Alive
-The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown
-The Spoken freedom fest, hosted by Word n Sound in conjunction with the Market Theater.
-Afr(we)ka Festival in conjunction with WordNSound and The DAC
-Harare International Festival
-Venice Biennale in Italy, where she opened for the South African Pavilion
Vundla is the co-editor of an international anthology that features 24 young influential writers titled ‘ HOME IS WHERE THE MIC IS’ published by Botsotso
Vundla is currently a member of the Word N Sound content production team.
Dubbed Queen of the Word N Sound Mic 2012 in Johannesburg’s prestigious Slam, she went on to win the Poet of the Year award, and broke her own record by defending her own WordnSound queen of the mic title.
She is the undisputed queen of the word n Sound mic 2012+2013
Livhuwani Mashao was born Livhuwani Takalani Mashao on March 8, 1993, in Vosloorus, Gauteng. As a young boy he was exposed to Edgar Allen’s anthology and he grew up with a great passion for poetry and music. At the age of 15 he was introduced to Nasir Oludara Jones’, Nas, music and he fell in love with his writing style, fashion sense and demeanor.
Livhuwani began to write poems and raps, performing at school and church as he was being inspired by the divine life of Jesus Christ. Still growing and studying theology, Livhuwani hopes to reach out to his peers in style using witty rhyme schemes and word play. Livhuwani is currently taking theatre classes at Johannesburg theatre with the well known Souht African film director, Mr. Duma Ndlovu, being his lecturer. “Stage presence is a good trait to an all-round performer” Livhuwani alludes in most of his interviews.
Ochieng Adholla, also known as Ochi, is a conscious Kenyan poet and philosopher. His first collection of poems, Panther’s Diary, was published in 2011 by Salonica Press, an Imprint of Seaburn Publishing Group based in New York. His second collection of poems, compiled in 2014 , is a free e-book available on his website.
Mbasa Sigcau, also known as Amazing the Slum Intellect, is a 20 year old emcee, poet and observer based in Grahamstown South Africa. He honed his writing style by studying the Durban underground rap scene. Most of his writing is deeply rooted in social commentary.
Thabiso Malepe is the co founder of Slum Literature,an audio visual poetry experience that fuses Slam Poetry with Hip Hop. It is rooted in social consciousness and seeks to tell the stories and illustrate the brilliance of where it originated, the township.
Ntsika Tyatya is a writer, poet, spoken word performer who is from Nelson Mandela Bay, he has been active in the poetry scene for the past 12 years. After co-producing weekly poetry sessions in Port Elizabeth in 2006, he created SLAM ( Student’s Literature and Arts Movement) in 2008, which was the first slam poetry society at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He was the headliner and finalist in the Cape Town poets search competition, Poetry Delight, as well as a headliner at the East London weekly poetry sessions; Brute Force. 2012 he was one of the headlining poets at the National Book Week. He has graced the stages with Luka Lesson (AUS), Lesego Rampolokeng, Lebo Mashile, Ntsiki Mazwai, Bongeziwe Mabandla, Don Mattera, Afurakhan, The Brother Moves on, Zubz, Mxo, Tumi to name few. In 2014 he partnered with Word and Sound, as the Eastern Cape facilitator in their Slam Your Life national competition that was held in Grahamstown.
He currently pursues a BA in Corporate Communication and has assisted with conceptualising both Maxhosa exhibitions in 2013 and 2014. He was part of the company that assisted in bringing Ian Kamau (Canada), Tutu Puoane (Holland) Vatiswa Ndara (SA), to Nelson Mandela Bay. He freelances in communication for various artists and businesses.
Rosamund Stanford grew up on a farm in East Griqualand, South Africa, and studied literature, history and politics at Cape Town University. She has worked as a script writer and an editor in education and IT publishing, and is now a contract writer and editor. She has written non-fiction books about HIV and short fiction. Her poetry has appeared in New Coin, in the anthology In the Heat of Shadows – South African poetry 1996-2013, and has been translated into French. Her collections of poems are The Peeling of Skies (Aerial Publishing 2004) and The Hurricurrent (Deep South 2011).
Megan van der Nest was born and raised in Johannesburg and currently lives in Grahamstown, where she is a postgraduate student at Rhodes University, working towards a PhD in English Literature. She holds two Masters Degrees, one in Philosophy and one in Creative Writing. She has worked as a Philosophy lecturer at the University of Fort Hare, and as a facilitator for the annual creative writing course offered by the Institute for the Study of English in Africa at Rhodes University. She studied music as an undergraduate and was a member of the East Cape Opera Company for two years. She now sings with the Rhodes University Chamber Choir. Her poetry has been published in New Coin, Aerial and ITCH Online, and her poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Rhino (after Wallace Stevens) was included in the 2012 anthology For Rhino in a Shrinking World, edited by Harry Owen. The inspiration for her poetry is drawn from simple moments of family life and from the natural world.
Lesedi Thwala is a 20-year-old female, born in Itsoseng but grew up in a small town called Lichtenburg in the North West Province. She is currently doing her first year of her Bachelor of Arts at Rhodes University. A die-hard feminist, Motswako rapper and recovering book worm, Lesedi’s love for poetry began as an escape from the challenges she faced in life until a friend discovered one of her poems and forced her to recite it for a group of people. Lesedi is passionate about South African literature and dreams of becoming an author someday.
Sisonkepapu is a dynamic personality. Close observers of his work claim that he has a provocative poetic skill and has established himself as a prominent poetic voice within the Eastern Cape. Being a professor of literature, his focus extends beyond the academy and community, and has a penchant for critical engagement through writing and development of budding writers like himself. His poem was added into the syllabus for a Poetry course at NMMU in 2014 and 2015, and offered his insights into the critical revelation in the piece, and the art of poetic writing and literary interpretation in the Poetry lectures. The Resonance Poetry Movement, a poetry society he co-founded, facilitates creative writing workshops and has published an anthology, hosted local and International acts such as Ian Kamau and Luka Lesson.
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.
Anthony ‘Ty’ Ngachira is a 22 year old from Kenya. The budding lawyer took an interest in poetry while in high school but actively pursued it while at university. He has performed at Kenya Slam Africa, Kwani Open Mic, Fatuma’s Voice and Poetry under Stars. He loves poetry because it allows him to be who he wants to be. His work mirrors the African society he has grown up in.
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.
Tina Abena Oforiwa is a London-based, Ghanaian-born creative writer.
Although she has lived in the UK almost all her life, for her Ghana will always be home. She uses poetry as a means to communicate the experience of growing-up outside of her homeland, the feeling of displacement and nostalgia which naturally manifest in varying ways.
For Tina, poetry remains as the ultimate liberating tool. It allows her to speak of things she wouldn’t ordinarily engage with others about on a day to day, and feel no reproach.
Phomelelo Mamampi Moshapo is a lover of words. Her poetry has been published in various volumes of the Timbila Poetry Project. She has contributed to an anthology of poetry by South African Women, Basadzi Voices (UKZN Press, 2006). She also published a Sepedi collection of poetry titled Peu tša tokologoIo (Timbila, 2005). She was also one of the featured poets in Throbbing Ink 2003, a poetry collection by six South African poets.
She has read her poetry on various stages including the following: Polokwane Literary Fair 2014, 95 Poems 95 Poets Long Live Madiba, Polokwane Literary Festival 2012, Poetry Africa 2007, and Grahamstown National Arts Festival 2005, as well as the Beyond Borders Literature Festival in Uganda 2005. Her writing is mainly social commentary.
She’s a mother to Gaositwe, Mukona, and Muwanwa; wife to Segopotso Moshapo; and she holds a degree in physiotherapy
Tapiwa Mugabe is a writer who was born in Zimbabwe and raised in England, UK. As a writer and poet he has recently published his first collection of poetry titled Zimbabwe. Tapiwa’s poetry introduces a fresh and bold voice into the rich current that is emerging from young African millennial artists.
Born in Kagiso, raised in Diepkloof, polished in Scummyside and studying in Cape Town. Thabiso is a self proclaimed wordsmith exploring the multiverse one syllable at a time.
Darren Carolissen was born and raised in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He started writing at the age of 13. He started writing lyrics and eventually found his way to poetry. Since then he has been chasing this form of storytelling with a fierce passion.
Codey Young is a graduate of Ursinus College, class of 2014. He was recently selected as a 2014-15 Watson Fellow by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, for a year of international travel to pursue an independent creative project on art, activism, and Black masculinity in the African Diaspora while also performing his poetry. Codey has also launched a website, the Black M.A.R.S. Project, to highlight the work of Black male artists throughout the Diaspora. He has been writing poetry since the age of 12 and performed his work throughout college, at Ted Perkiomen Valley High School, as well as One World Poetry in Berlin, Germany.
Mathadjé Yogolipaka is publisher, poet and literary critic from Cameroon. He is also the managing director of the organization Lupeppo International.
Born in the 1988 on Saint-Louis in the Senegal, Fatou Dioffé Bâ first started dabbling in poetry in college. Although she is a graduate of a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, Computer Science and Finance, poetry is her number one passion.
Kalyre Slam is a Cameroonian slam poet who regularly performs on local and international stages. Kalyre Slam is the winner of the Chanson pour l’education or Song for Education Competition organized by the Swiss based NGO Enfants du Monde. He is also the president of the Association De la Promotion Des Arts Urbains in Mali.
Loyce Gayo was born in Tanzania and is currently pursuing a degree in African and African Diaspora Studies with a Minor in Mathematics at the University of Texas in Austin. Gayo’s time in the diaspora and her constant desire to go home has profoundly influenced her craft. Gayo was the Slam Champ of the UT Spitshine Poetry Slam team who won the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational in Boulder Colorado. Gayo currently serves as a member of the Austin TheySpeak Youth Slam that will be competing in the 2014 Brave New Voices in Philadelphia.
Sindisiwe Getrude Mbombi was born and bred in Mpumalanga province, residing under Nkomazi Municipality in the village called Masibekela. She started writing for fun way back in the early 1990’s, but this hobby soon turned into a great passion. Ligwalagwala FM, a local radio station in her province, has featured her poetry on numerous occasions. She recently published two books titled Tsatsa Umtsamo volume 1 & 2. She is currently in the process of completing volume 3 and 4.
Edgar Munguambe is a Mozambican spoken word artist and aspiring writer with an international perspective. In 2013 he graduated both with a Bachelor’s degree in Media, Communication & Culture from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, and an Honours degree in African Studies from the University of Cape Town. Edgar believes his degrees helped develop his research and analytical skills, as well as flexibility which are vital particularly with regard to his passion – the creative arts.
He writes in both Portuguese and English, about issues that personally affect him; matters of the heart, death and the human condition, stereotyping, alienation, and success are among his themes.
Edgar has performed at various spoken word gigs throughout Maputo, particularly at Noites de Poesia (Poetry evenings) organized by cultural movement Pl’Art D’Alma. He participated in the “The Power of Voice” festival organized by the British Council. Due to the positive feedback on the content of his lyrics, wordplay and delivery with his resounding bass, Edgar decided to take his poetry to new heights.
Internationally he participated in the 2014 Poetry Africa Festival in Durban, South Africa. He will also be featured on Noites de Poesia’s first Anthology featuring local Mozambican spoken word artists, which will be published in 2014.
Professionally, in 2014 he became a candidate of the Barclays graduate programme, a prestigious pan-African development program where he will train as an analyst.
Centie Ambrose Ngubane was born in 1961 in Mpumalanga, South Africa. He has contributed to a number of anthologies which include Ligwalagwala by SS Mahlalela, Timfofo by BS Khanyile and Ingono 2 by MP Mavuso.
Deanna Rodger is an actor and spoken word poet. She is the youngest UK Poetry Slam Champion (2007/8) and completed vocational acting training in The National Youth Theatres (NYT) REP Company 2012.
She has written and performed as a poet and actor in 2012 Olympic Team Welcome Ceremonies (NYT commission), Buckingham Palace (NYT commission), Speakers House (NYT commission), 10 Downing street (somewhere to_ commission) and Honey Coated Dream (Lyric Hammersmith commission) as well as delivering two TedX performances (Southwark and EastEnd). She has recently completed the audio book recording of ‘Feral Youth’ by Polly Courtney and is currently writing her one woman show ‘LondonMatter’ which has received support from POP Productions (IdeasTap, Sky Arts), Roundhouse Camden, The Albany and the Arts Council.
She is co founder of two popular spoken word events Chill Pill and Come Rhyme With Me (Spread the Word, New Writing South) and is in poetry collectives: Point Blank Poets (Biennale UK Artist International award 2011) and Keats House Poetry Forum, as well as leading on Podium Poets (Spread The Word) and workshops in and around the UK.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download