Naledi Raba is a 21 year old poet from Nyanga, a township in Cape Town, South Africa.
She first performed in New York in 2008 and has since been performing in various places in Cape Town. Naledi won the Slam Poetry Competition at University of Cape Town in 2012 and in 2013 she won the national DFL Lover + Another Poetry Challenge in 2013.
Ndukwe Onuoha resides in Lagos Nigeria, where he is a copywriter by day and poet by design. He draws his inspiration from the many human stories that play themselves out every day, providing a unique insight into the animal called man.
He is married to a lovely blogger, who also has the rather arduous task of keeping him within the agreeable bounds of reality and sanity
Inspirational speaker Kgoshii Tshwarelo Mogakane is an Author, Speaker and Hip Hop/Poetry Writer/Vocalist who lives and works in Mpumalanga’s capital city, Mbombela in South Africa.
Kgoshii is a leader in his own right and uses his ability to speak as a transformation tool for audiences around his home province of Mpumalanga and beyond.
Kgoshii Mogakane believes that self-transformation is the most powerful path to real economic empowerment.
Furthermore Kgoshii, is a professional managing sub editor working with Southern Africa’s leading news agency, African Eye News Service (AENS). He is responsible for quality control on all newswire content published by AENS through their myriad of mainstream and community newspaper clients.
His writings have been widely published in national newspapers such as City Press, The Star, Mail & Guardian, Sunday Independent, Sunday Sun, Sowetan Sunday World and Daily Sun among others. He has also written for magazines such as Bona, News Weekly, Enterprise, Sunrise, Lowveld Living and Capital Magazine. His other writings have been widely published on international news website, news24.com and the South African government’s SA News site.
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.
Jamaica is without doubt the foremost nation in the world for reggae! However the cultural, political and social climate tends to shape the musical offerings of this glorious nation.
Kokumo is a citizen and artisan from Jamaica whose debut album Writing’s On The Wall may well be the finest recording in the dub poetry vain for many a decade. Kokumo’s delivery will obviously draw comparisons to Mutabaruka but there is an originality of style that will appeal to audiences worldwide.
Described as not just an artist but also a cultural anthropologist and dub-griot, Kokumo uses his skills as a singer/songwriter and a dub-poet to capture his audience, whilst taking them on a cultural, spiritual and political journey.
Hailed from the parish better known as the cockpit country in rural Jamaica, seems to have contributed to the powerful voice that allows his words to take flight.
With a name meaning, “this one will not die” in Yoruba, is synonymous with the notion that his work will be around forever.
His work is rooted in the consciousness of Rasta and the cultural experiences of black people worldwide. This consciousness was triggered from an early age which he credited to being around his Rastafarian cousins but didn’t manifest until a later stage in life when he began to write songs and poetry.
Kokumo’s multidisciplinary skills as a performer have landed him roles in plays at the Royal Shakespeare Company and his own sold out production, GENESIS 9:25 @ The Birmingham Rep. Theatre, 2010. He also appeared at The Tate Britain, The Poetry Café London, BBC Radio 4, B-Spoken Word, BBC WM, Robert Beckford Show and the colourful face introducing Benjamin Zephaniah at Griotology held at The Drum, for his T.V. documentary, This OBE Is Not For Me.
Kokumo has being commissioned to write and perform for organizations such as Oxfam International Birmingham, Arts Council England, West Midlands and BBC WM to mark the 200th Anniversary of the abolition of the Slave Trade in The British Parliament. Other highlights include his appearance at Calabash Festival, Glastonbury Festival and being included in the “RED” anthology published by Peepal Tree Press 2010.
His written works has also being published in numerous magazines and online journals, most recent appeared in dialogue – a magazine for cultural literacy, No. 2/Vol. 3, (http://www.lulu.com/roikwabena), edited by the late Dr. Roi Kwabena.
Khadija Tracey Carmelita Heeger was born Cape Town. She was raised on the Cape Flats in the township of Hanover Park. She started performing when she was nine years old, her dream was to be an actress, but at 15, she started writing seriously and this is how she expresses herself now. She is a well-known and popular performance poet.
In 2007 she was commissioned to write a multidisciplinary theatrical poetry piece in collaboration with indigenous soundscape artists, Khoikonnexion, for the Spier Poetry Festival in 2008. These performances were greeted with standing ovations. This piece was later taken to Grahamstown Festival in 2009 (funded by the National Arts Council of South Africa).
Beyond the Delivery Room is her first collection of poems. Beyond the Delivery Room is the first part in a trilogy called Separation Anxiety. She is currently writing the second, Blood Words, following the crooked lines of DNA. She has also performed in Amherst in the USA, as part of an artist’s exchange programme.
Odongo Kennedy Leakey, known in the entertainment industry as Kennet B, started writing spoken word poetry 14 years ago. He began performing actively in early 2009 after winning the Slam Africa Poetry Championship founded by Imani Womera of Imani Inc. Prior to this, he had recorded his first spoken word poetry single Reality Absurdity, the video for which is forthcoming. Driven by the global concern about HIV and AIDS, his lyrics are majorly pegged on the social issues that are responsible for the spread of the virus.
He has four albums on the table; Coming of Age, a seven track pure spoken word poetry album , Success a 15 track musical-poetry album, Cheka na Kennet, and Refugee.
Currently Kennet is working on a short stories compilation The Sheng Anthology vol 1. This is a collection of conflict-laden social narratives aimed at impacting the repeated emphatic distress felt when a favorite character is seen in imminent danger. This often enhances the enjoyment of the stories and one sees the resolution of the threat (HIV&AIDS) as the narratives unfold.
Karin Schimke is a widely published journalist and columnist, and the Cape Times books editor. She also works as a writing tutor and mentor, an author of non-fiction – including the best-selling Fabulously Forty and Beyond, co-written with Margie Orford – of children’s books and of short stories. She edited Open, an anthology of erotic short stories written by some of South Africa’s best known women writers. Her poetry has appeared in South Africa Writing, New Contrast, New Coin and Carapace magazines. Bare & Breaking her first collection of poems won the Ingrid Jonker Prize in 2014.
German-born, Kai Lossgott lives and works in Cape Town. In search of poetry, he travelled from paper to canvas, from theatre to film, and into digital media. In his performances, poems, experimental films and plant leaf engravings, he investigates biophysical language patterns and the vulnerable instincts which drive them sensitivity, silence, and acts of sensing. In a human-centred world, his aim is most often to work from a life-centred perspective.
Odia Ofeimun, poet, polemicist and polymath was born in Iruekpen-Ekuma, Edo State, Nigeria, on March 16th 1950. The author of ten significant volumes of poetry, Mr. Ofeimun has also published two books of political essays, four books on cultural politics as well as editing two anthologies of Nigerian poetry.
Widely anthologized and translated into many world languages, Mr. Ofeimun has read and performed his poetry in several countries of the world including Ghana, South Africa, Ethiopia, India, South Korea, Columbia, Germany, Israel, Great Britain, China, the United States of America, Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, Sweden, Italy and Cuba.
At home in Nigeria, Mr. Ofeimun’s practice of journalism, spanning the years of military tyranny, has inspired a whole generation of journalists in print and electronic media. The principled stand of Mr. Ofeimun came at the price of random invasion of his residence, seizure of his manuscripts, computer discs and Nigerian Passport to deny him freedom of movement. Undeterred, and while practicing probably the most dangerous vocation of all at the time, Mr. Ofeimun served the Association of Nigerian Authors as General Secretary and President respectively. He has been designated advisor to PEN Nigeria Centre and is a founding member of the Pan African Writers Association.
Mr. Ofeimun is the recipient of many awards the latest of which is the prestigious Fonlon-Nichols Award for literary excellence and propagation of Human Rights which was conferred on him by the African Literature Association in 2010. In a literary career spanning four decades, Mr. Ofeimun has distinguished himself with poetry and essays which challenge both the imagination and the intellect, crossing cultural borders and establishing new benchmarks in the articulation of the African narrative. His essays are valued both for knowledge and analysis, for what to know and for how to think about what is known.
Though only 62, Mr. Ofeimun is fondly called ‘Baba’ by the post-civil war generation of Nigerian writers many of whom have found touchstones in his works or have been individually mentored in writing by Mr. Ofeimun. For his copious literary output while engaged with anti-military rule struggle in Nigeria, Mr. Ofeimun has been called an exemplar of conscionable and consistent writing and the writerly life.
OSAZE DOLABAILLE is a singer, poet and drummer who was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. He was brought to the city of Toronto, in Canada while still very young. It was here that the adult Osaze would be awakened: to the reality of his Afrikan identity, an appreciation of Afrikan history and the validity of Afrikan spirituality. Thus inspired, he has been performing at community events, spoken word and poetry readings, and concerts since 1998.
He is currently the president of Baro Dununba, a Toronto based music ensemble and philanthropic organization. Along with Baro Dununba, he has performed as part of Muhtadi’s World Drummers, Quammie Williams’ JUMP Collective and the New Dimension Steel Orchestra. Poetic collaborations have included the International Festival of Poetry of Resistance and T Dot Griots anthologies. In 2007 he released his first book entitled, Rebirth of the Warrior Poet. This self-publication afforded him the opportunity to participate in both the 2007 Caribbean Canadian Literary Expo and the Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes’ Calypso Tents Music Series as part of Caribana 2007 (aka Toronto Caribbean Carnival).
Omekongo wa Dibinga was born to Congolese parents in Cambridge Massachusetts. His first CD, A Young Black Man’s Anthem, won the 2003 Cambridge Poetry Award for “Best CD.” His first book of poems, From the Limbs of my Poetree, was published in 2004 through Free Your Mind Publishing, which Omekongo founded in early 2004. Other CD’s include Reality Show, which is Omekongo’s first hybrid spoken word and hip-hop CD. Omekongo has been published in Essence Magazine, Sister 2 Sister, and several other publications.
A dedicated educator and community activist for over 20 years, Omekongo plans to continue focusing on improving cultural understanding and growing greatness among all of humanity’s children, because, as Omekongo believes: “We are only as humane as our most inhumane soul.”
At age 7, her class teacher wrote on her mid-term report sheet, “Jumoke loves to write”. While that was just a teacher’s observation, it is one revelation that has remained true. Her love for words has never taken her far from it. She has worked as a printer’s clerk, assistant sub-editor, performance poet and journalist. Now working as a copywriter, she maintains a page in the Guardian Newspaper. Her poems and short stories have appeared in several magazines like Chimurenga, Bathtub Gin, Canopic Jar, Eclectica, Sentinel, African writing-online, Boyne Berries, Farafina, Kwani and several anthologies.
I am Memory is Jumoke’s first collection of poetry.
Jethro is a poet from Cape Town, born in Beaufort West in the Eastern Cape. He lives in a township. He is a ghetto poet, largely considered to be the godfather of spoken word in Cape Town. And alongside poets such as Lesego Rampolokeng, Mzwakhe Mbuli and Mzwandile Matiwana, he ranks as one of the nation’s key voices, a noteable “word-bomber”. Jethro uses the power of his words to bring back to life the discontinued heritage of his culture. His work revitalises the legacy of stories and the wealth of storytellers of the KhoiSan people. For centuries, the members of this community have been silenced by the gun and the bullet and the wall. The results are a lack of formal skills and access to infrastructure to turn those skills into income, subsequently a lack of identity and self esteem.
Jethro Louw’s compositions and performances feature on Volume One of the Coffeebeans Routes’ Bootleg Series, by the Khoi Khollektif, in collaboration with several Cape Town acts. The tracks are all live recordings from shows in Cape Town between 2004 and 2007. Jethro also features on the Goemarati compilation, with his track In a Third World, a collaboration with Black Rose.
James Matthews, poet, writer and publisher, has produced five books of poetry, a collection of short stories, a novel and an anthology of poetry, which he edited. Most of his work was banned under the previous government and was translated and published overseas. For 13 years he was denied a passport and was placed in detention from September to December 1976. Solitary confinement was widely used during the apartheid years; its purpose being to disorient, to dehumanize, to undermine the detainee’s sense of self-identity. James Matthews waged a struggle against this agenda with the one weapon the jailers couldn’t take away from him – his ability to turn words into poems.
In 1980 Matthews participated in the Frankfurt Book Fair, and in 1982 he participated in the Cultural and Resistance Conference in Gaborone. He was awarded a Fellowship at Iowa University, U.S.A. and was the founding member of the Vakalisa Art Association and founding member and Patron of the Congress of South African Writers. James Matthews is the first black person to have established an art gallery (Gallery Afrique) in South Africa, and is the first black to have established a publishing house (BLAC Publishing House 1974 -1991) The publishing house closed in 1991 due to constant harassment by the previous government. Matthews is the recipient of the Woza Afrika Award (1978), Kwaza Honours List – Black Arts Celebration, Chicago, U.S.A.(1979) and the Freeman of Lehrte and Nienburg, Germany (1982). In 2010, he was given an award by the City of Cape Town.
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Born and raised in the Eastern Cape, Jessica Mbangeni is one of South Africa’s most sought after female Imbongi (praise singer), and has made her mark in male dominated cultural terrain. Invoking the role of this ancient tradition, largely influenced by her grandmother’s isiXhosa storytelling in the village of Nqamakwe, she offers insightful commentary on contemporary affairs. She has performed alongside numerous musical icons, such as Dolly Rathebe and Dorothy Masuka.
Gloria D. Gonsalves is a creative writer and founder of World Children’s Poetry Day (WoChiPoDa), an initiative aimed at instilling the love of poetry in young people. Her work has appeared in various literary magazines, platforms and journals. Occasionally, she writes opinion pieces for newspapers.
Her literary works aim at supporting humanitarian related projects and creativity in others, especially children, by having them participate through drawings or stories. Her aspiration is to see more writers give back as profiled at Read A Book, Make A Difference (RABMAD).
Gloria’s mission as a writer is in paving the way for those seeking creativity in writing without paying attention to societal expectations. You might find her in unexpected spaces because she sees it as her job to show aspiring writers that possibilities exist. She does not procrastinate or allow man-made excuses such as it is not African. Even if it is not, she will be the African in it.
She holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Environmental Sciences, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Tourism Marketing and a Diploma (S.A.C Dip) in Professional Proofreading and Editing.
Gloria is from Tanzania, has lived in Ireland and currently resides in Germany.
You can find her online at www.auntieglo.com
Iconic and award-winning Kwazulu-Natal storyteller and poet, Gcina Mhlophe has been writing and performing for over twenty years. Known for her engaging stage presence, she has written numerous award-winning childrens books as well as poetry, short stories and plays, including Nozincwadi Mother of Books, African Mother Christmas, Fudukazi’s Magic and Love Child. Gcina Mhlophe has received Honorary Doctorates from the London Open University as well as the University of Natal and awards from BBC Africa Service for Radio Drama, The Fringe First Award in the Edinburgh Festival, the Josef Jefferson Award in Chicago, and OBBIE in New York. Her work has contributed to the revival of indigenous storytelling in South Africa.
Gabeba is the author of the poetry collections The Dream in the Next Body (2005), The Museum of Ordinary Life (2005), and A hundred silences (2006). The Silence Before Speaking, a volume of her poetry translated into Swedish, is published by Tranan publishers. The Dream in the Next Body was named a Notable Book of 2005 by the Sunday Independent in South Africa and was a Sunday Times Recommended Book. A hundred silences was short-listed for the 2007 University of Johannesburg Prize and the 2007 Olive Schreiner Award.
In 2005, Gabeba received the DaimlerChrysler Award for South African Poetry and held the Guest Writer Fellowship at the Nordic Africa Institute, the second person after Ama Ata Aidoo to receive this honour. In 2008, Gabeba was the recipient of a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship in Italy and a Writer’s Residency at the University of Witwatersrand. Gabeba has read at international literary festivals such as Winternachten in the Netherlands, Poetry International in Rotterdam and London, the Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica, the Stockholm Poetry Festival, the Bristol Poetry Festival, the Franschhoek Literary Festival, Spier and Poetry Africa. Her fiction appears in Chimurenga, Twist (Oshun, 2006), Cape Town Calling (Tafelberg, 2007) and Art South Africa (6.2, Dec 2007). Gabeba is also a scholar, and writes for the media. Details of her academic writing and her articles in Newsday, the Sunday Independent, Mail & Guardian, Oprah and Real Simple magazines can also be found on gabeba.com.
Evolution is an artist, poet, musician and creative head who credits all her work to her ancestors. She speaks only the truth which they provide. She mediates between the spirit world and that of physical existence.
Known by her stage name Es Taa, Esther Karin Mngodo is a Tanzanian poet based in Dar Es Salaam. At the age of 10 she was encouraged by her mother to join the choir, which she did. As the youngest member at the time, Es Taa started off as a Saprano and later on as an Alto. She recently discovered her Tenor voice in a band that ahe has been part of since 2006. Not only is the 26 year old a poet and a musician, but a journalist, a storyteller, a playwright, a social worker, a song composer and a woman passionate about her faith in God.
In 2011 she co-wrote a Musical Move: The Time is Now that was staged at The National Museum Theatre in Dar Es Salaam. She recently performed her original poems at The Smart Partnership Dialogue Meeting held in Dar es Salaam that was attended by Commonwealth Heads of States and different dignitaries.
Using her own life experience, Es Taa’s passion is to unearth matters that people would rather not talk about openly, to bring healing through authentic lyrics that have been birthed through her own pain, mistakes and the quest of life’s purpose. She also seeks to use art as a tool of social change by addressing issues of human rights and social justice in a way that people can relate to.
Oluwadolapo meaning “The Lord has poured (things of) substance together” is an embodiment of her name. Her poetry speaks of her inner experiences, either thought out or lived through. She writes in the hope that her words connect with another’s inner self and begins a deep inner reflection that will cause lasting change from the individual to the entire world.
Dolapo’s spoken word delivery has been described as theatrical and deeply moving. Applying her background in music, dance and stage acting into her live performances, she does not resemble one who only began this genre of artistry in August, 2010.
Born to yoruba parents as Oluwadolapo Ebunoluwapo Ogunwale in the city of Lagos, she hopes to find listening ears and open hearts on the world stage.
Dumisani Slinger is a spoken word artist, writer and performer who hails from the dusty streets of KwaZakhele, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
His love for all things poetic stemmed from his passion for hip-hop. A friend introduced him to the world of poetry & he hasn’t looked back since.
His ferocious delivery and clever wordplay draw the audience in as he continuously drops hard facts on topics ranging from socio-political issues right down to the struggle to know thy self. Like many a writer, his poetry is sometimes inspired by the literature he consumes and also by the toil of life.
He has performed on various stages and platforms in and around PE and has even made an appearance on BayTV. The highlight of his journey in poetry came in 2012 when he was chosen, along with 3 other poets, to facilitate a workshop on Poetry & Creative Writing, which was held at the Red Location Museum during National Book Week.
Using the power of the spoken word, the young man aims to inform, inspire & change perceptions.
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Desiree has lived in New York for over 13 years. Still, the Caribbean will never leave her.
She believes that the written and spoken word can set fire to the positive action and social change that is waiting in our bones.
Chirikure Chirikure was born in Gutu, Zimbabwe, in 1962. He is a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe and an Honorary Fellow of Iowa University, USA. He currently lives in Berlin, Germany, as a fellow under the 2011/12 DAAD Berliner Kunstlerprogramm (Artists in Berlin Programme). He also works as a performance poet and cultural consultant.
He worked with one of Zimbabwe’s leading publishing houses as an editor/publisher for 17 years, until 2002. After working as a consultant for a while, he went on to work for an international development agency as a programme officer for culture, for Southern Africa, based in Harare, until April 2011.
Chirikure has published the following volumes of his poetry: Rukuvhute (1989, College Press, Harare); Chamupupuri (1994, College Press, Harare); Hakurarwi – We Shall not Sleep (1998, Baobab Books, Harare) and Aussicht Auf Eigene Schatten (Shona and English poems with German translations) (2011, Afrika Wunderhorn, Heidelberg, Germany).
He has also contributed some pieces in a number of poetry anthologies, including Zviri Muchinokoro (2005, ZPH Publishers), Intwasa Poetry (2008, AmaBooks Publishers), Schicksal Afrika (ed. Horst Kohler) (2010, Rowohlt Verlag), No Serenity Here – An Anthology of African Poetry in Chinese, (2010 Moonchu Foundation).
His poetry has been translated into a number of languages. He has also written and translated a number of children’s stories and educational books.
Chirikure’s first three poetry books received first prizes in the annual Zimbabwe writer of the year awards. His first volume, Rukuvhute, also received an Honorable Mention in the Noma Awards for Publishing in Africa, in 1990. His other book, Hakurarwi – We Shall not Sleep, was selected as one of the 75 Best Zimbabwean Books of the 20th Century in a competition ran by the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in 2004. In that competition the same book got a prize as one of the best five Shona publications of the 20th Century.
Chirikure performs his poetry solo and/or with DeteMbira mbira music ensemble. With DeteMbira, they recorded an album of poetry and music, Napukeni (2002, Tuku Music/ZMC). He regularly performs and tours with musician Chiwoniso Maraire, with whom he has recorded an album of poetry with mbira music, Chimanimani .
With support from family and friends, he has also recorded an album of his poetry with contemporary music, Chisina Basa (2011, Metro Studios Harare/Inyasha Studios UK).
He has also written lyrics for a number of leading Zimbabwean musicians and he occasionally performs and has recorded with some of these musicians.
He has also contributed lyrics, translations and voice-overs in films and documentaries, and has acted in some theatre productions. He has also been an occasional contributor to the print media and used to run a radio programme for young Shona writers.
Over the years, Chirikure has participated in several international festivals, fairs, conferences and symposiums, as a performer, speaker or resource person.
Crystal Tettey is a Malagasy/Ghanaian artist who is a member of EhaLaKasa- a group of young Spoken word poets who use performance art to inspire positive social change. She is fluent in English, French, Russian, Ga and Twi.
Chief Moomen is currently a teaching assistant at the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Ghana where he studied Creative Writing in English and Play writing in Theatre Arts for his undergraduate degree.
His interest in poetry was ignited when he saw a performance of the American poet, Maya Angelou, in Ghana in the early nineties. Chief Moomen has been doing spoken word for the past five years. He has performed on various platforms including KSM’s Thank God It’s Friday and also makes regular appearances in the poetry section of Metro TV’s The Citizen Comedy Show. Chief Moomen’s poems are vivid with imagery and he transports his audience through a mosaic of experiences and leaves them excited, contemplative, refreshed or simply awed.
His collection of poems dubbed Village Fresh is a favourite amongst many as it takes them back to village life and its little pleasures. Chief Moomen intends to publish an anthology of his poems next year. He enjoys reading, listening to inspirational music and watching adventure and drama movies. He is very sociable and enjoys meeting new people. Chief Moomen intends to continue writing poetry for as long as the fountain of his creativity is nourished with the stream of inspiration.
Chenjerai Hove born February 9, 1956, he is a Zimbabwean poet, novelist and essayist. He was educated at the University of South Africa and the University of Zimbabwe, and has worked as an educator and journalist. He has lived in exile since 2001, after his writings, especially Masimba Avanhu and a play, Sister, Sing Again Someday (both of which address the situation of women in Zimbabwe), as well as his criticism of the policies of President Robert Mugabe, brought him to the attention of the Zimbabwe government.
He currently lives in exile as the International Writers Project fellow in residence at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. Widely regarded as a leading figure of post-colonial Zimbabwean literature, Chenjerai Hove is the author of four novels – Bones, Shadows, Ancestors, and, in his native Shona, Masimba Avanhu (Is This the People’s Power?), as well as of three volumes of poetry, books of essays, and freelance journalism.
Camille T. Dungy is author of Suck on the Marrow (Red Hen Press, 2010) and What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison (Red Hen Press, 2006), a finalist for the PEN Center USA 2007 Literary Award and the Library of Virginia 2007 Literary Award.
She is editor of Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry (University of Georgia Press, 2009), coeditor of From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems that Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great (Persea, 2009) and assistant editor of Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem’s First Decade (University of Michigan Press, 2006).
Dungy has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Cave Canem, the Dana Award, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Once the Writer-in-Residence at Rocky Mountain National Park, Dungy has also been awarded fellowships and residencies by The Corporation of Yaddo, The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Norton Island/Eastern Frontier Society, and the Ragdale Foundation.
A graduate of Stanford University and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro’s MFA Program, Dungy is currently Associate Professor in the Creative Writing Department at San Francisco State University. Her poems have been published widely in anthologies and print and online journals.
Hale Tsehlana is the Faculty Advisor for the Stellenbosch University Poetry Society, which she assisted to establish. She is a published poet and has read and performed her poetry in and around South Africa, India, Germany, UK and South Korea. Her collection titled Poems and Songs from the Mirea was relaunched in August 2007 at a special celebration for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions hosted by the South Africa National Library for the Blind in Grahamstown and it has been published in Braille and Audio. In the face of current debates on multiculturalism and multilingualism in South Africa, this book takes a multimedia and multilingual approach to poetry with English, Afrikaans and Sesotho poems. The book encourages local writers to reach out to marginalized communities who may not be able to read and write; hence it is made into Braille.
She recently translated a children’s book Phapo’s Gift that will be suitable for use in primary schools. She is featured in Ink@ boilingpoint, a collection of poems and essays by women from the Southern tip of Africa, (2004) 2nd edition. Voices from the Free State (2004), an anthology of Prose, Verse & Creative Articles by Indigenous Women and Youth of the Free State Province, and Basadzi Voices, an anthology of poetic writing by young black South African Women, published in 2006 by University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. Hale Tsehlana was selected to attend the November 2007 Asia Africa Literature Festival in Jeonju South Korea and in May 2008 she represented South Africa as one of the 20 young writers selected world wide to participate in the Seoul Young Writers Festival. In 2009, she presented the Words on Water Festival – Stellenbosch Satellite event sponsored & co-hosted by the by the Indian Consulate Cape Town Office & Stellenbosch International office.