Of English and Sri Lankan descent, Seni Seneviratne’s work as a poet and live- artist is widely acclaimed. Her performances are a delicate mix of spoken word and folk/jazz song, offering a poetic landscape that echoes themes of migration, family, love and loss and reflects her personal journey as a woman of mixed heritage. She is published in the UK, Denmark, Canada and South Africa, and has presented readings and performances on various international stages.
Sandile Dikeni was born in Victoria West in 1966. He studied at the University of the Western Cape where he served on the SRC. He began writing seriously while in detention in 1986, and was a popular performer at political rallies and community cultural events. Since the coming of democracy, he has worked as a journalist and political commentator. In addition to Planting Water, he has published two previous collections of poetry, Guava Juice (1992) and Telegraph to the Sky (2002), as well as a collection of his articles featured in the Cape Times, titled Soul Fire: Writing the Transition (2002).
Shunshine, born Nonjabulo Tshabalala, is a Kwa-Zulu Natal(KZN) born poet, who now resides in Cape Town.
She moved to Cape Town after high school, to study Fashion Design. It was during those years that she started attending open-mic sessions, and had her first taste of the stage.
Since then, she has worked with many artists, and performed in many shows between KZN and Cape Town. She has also helped to organize a handful of events, in order to create platforms for other upcoming artists.
In KZN, she has worked with artists such as Raheem, Lexikon, Moonchild, Tumelo Khoza, Busiswa Gqulu, Thando Ngcobo and Siyabonga Skhakhane. She has performed at DUT’s Pour-A-Tree Sessions and Nowadays Poets. She was also a part of Poppunut’s ‘Sounds 031’ Women’s Edition Project in 2009.
In Cape Town, she has worked with Bulelwa Basse of the Lyrical Base Project, City at Peace, Dejavu, Uzinzo, and is a part of the Black Ink Arts Movement, based in Du Noon, Milnerton.
In 2009, she recorded and released an album titled My Space, which was quite successful considering that it was released independently. Since then, she has been featured in albums and songs by other artists.
Since her return to Cape Town in 2013, she has worked with Radikal Xpression, Sounds of The South (SOS), 4D Multimedia, and an Observatory based monthly session known as Poetics ‘music not for the sake of it’.
In 2013, one of her poems, I bargain with the mist, was published in the Sol Plaatje European Union Vol III Poetry Anthology.
As someone who has a hip hop background, and a general love for music, Nonjabulo sometimes blends her poetry with musical sounds. She loves experimenting with different writing styles.
She is inspired by love and life. She writes because it heals her, and shares it because she believes that it has the potential of healing other people.
She is driven by her great interest in spirituality, and quest to spread positivity across the dividing lines of culture, race and religion. She believes that we are all from the same source.
“When we learn to love our stormy days
as much as easy breezes;
there’s always something beautiful
for us to sink our souls in.” – Shunshine
Sfiso Riccardo Shezi also known as Imprint has been writing poetry for what feels like a lifetime to him. He started exploring the poetry scene in his hometown of Pietermaritzburg, but his love for art form has seen him travel across other provinces too. He mainly writes in his mother tongue isiZulu.
Sello Daniel Maputle is a poet based in Thaba Nchu in the Free State. He started writing poetry in 2003 when he joined a writing group called Untitled Poets in his hometown. The highlight of his career is when he performed at the Macufe Wordfest.
Tinashe Mushakavanhu is a young Zimbabwean poet born in 1983. He graduated with a First Class honors degree in English from Midlands State University and currently reading for a PhD in English at the University of Kent, in the UK.
He co-edited with David Nettleingham, State of the Nation: Contemporary Zimbabwean Poetry (2009) and also co-editing with Caroline Rooney, Emerging Perspectives on Chenjerai Hove: Literature, Politics & Culture (2011). His maiden book of verse is titled Harare’s Lonely Eyes.
Tanya Evanson is an Antiguan-Quebecoise Woman
Multilingual Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Vocalist
Whirling Dervish, Arts Organizer, Educator
Montreal-born and based in Vancouver BC Canada
Done five poetry chapbooks
Two spoken wor-l-d music CDs
Performing across Canada since the 90s
Featured in videopoems, documentaries,
Anthologies, international recordings,
National TV and radio
Often backed by musicians
Classically trained Whirling Dervish
Performed across Europe, Turkey and Japan
As Mother Tongue Media,
Produces art events that bridge
Disciplines and cultures
Open your arms if you want to be held
Tanisha Bhana is a contemporary South African visual artist, poet and an established attorney in the financial services industry of South Africa.
She is a visual art finalist of the Thami Mnyele competition and a winner of the Lovell Gallery National Art competition in 2011.
She has displayed artwork from the ‘Transience’ portfolio for the Economic and Infrastructural Development Conference in Johannesburg (April 2012) and delivered a speech and poetry reading at the Climate Leadership Programme, sponsored by the German Development Corporation, at Rustenberg, South Africa, (May 2012).
Inspired by the desire to contribute towards the growth of a society which is free from historical constraints and fear-based conditioning, Tanisha expresses the freedom to explore authentic dreams towards achieving a shifting human potential.
Mentored by Gordon Froud (Senior Lecturer, Curator and Judge, University of Johannesburg) and Les Cohn (Managing Director, ArtSource South Africa) her work is a celebration of the values of freedom of expression and has the potential to be a conduit of change by sharing a unique visual and poetic perspective, recording our human trail and aiding in perceiving different possibilities.
Thabiso’s passion of poetry started in 1995 while he was in secondary school. In pursuit to live out his passion, Thabiso travelled from his hometown in Bethlehem in the Free State to Gauteng in 1999. He attended various poetry sessions and workshops during that time, he was eager to learn and grow as a poet. Upon his return he was offered a job at COPAC as Development Arts Office, he was in charge of co-ordinating poetry, drama and dance classes. In 2010 he published his book, I Forsee. Thabiso currently hosts the Mehlodi Poetry Session in Bethlehem.
Uche Uwadinachi also called Flames – Priest of poetry, is a spoken word artist and the author of poetry collection SCAR in the HEART of pain and it’s Spoken Word audio Album.
He is the winner of ANA Lagos (Association of Nigerian Authors) Poetry Performance Festival Prize 2006 and Pakistan June ‘Poetrycraze’ contest 2009. 2nd Prize Poetry Winner of Ken Saro-Wiwa Contest, USA 2010, won the June Loudthotz Poetry contest 2011 and directed the overall winning Poetry performance of district 5 Education Board for the Lagos State Jam Feast Competition 2011, his poems have been published in the ‘Lime Jewel’ collection-London 2010 and other publications. His poetry performances has been seen on Bookshelves-LTV8, 9ja TV, Tinapa Trade Expo 2008, Lagos State Trade Fair EKO-EXPO 20011, Wordslam 1,2,3 & 4, Poetry Potter, Potters Lounge, Anthill, Pen Society among others, presently, he is an independent television presenter with Konto Music and works towards his new spoken-word-rap album titled E’FI MI LE’ joo’or.
Poet, photographer, essayist, Uche Nduka considers the making of poetry the pivotal drive of his life. He attempts to encompass the world physically and spiritually in each poem he writes and in his words “these poems are questions, celebrations, refusals and prayers that hopefully will move from my being to other hearts”. He has several published anthologies and has travelled widely across the USA, Europe and Africa lecturing and presenting his poetry.
Shire was born in 1988 in Kenya to Somali parents. She later emigrated to London.
Shire thereafter began writing poetry as a way to connect with her Somali heritage and her roots in Somalia. Her verse first gained notice after her poem “For Women Who Are Difficult to Love” went viral. In 2011, she also released Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth, a poetry pamphlet published by flipped eye.
Shire has read her poetry in various venues throughout the world, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, North America, South Africa and Kenya. Her poems focus on themes of travel and loss, and have been featured in the Poetry Review, Magma, Wasafiri and the Salt Book of Younger Poets. They have also been translated into a number of languages, such as Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
In April 2013, Shire was presented with Brunel University’s inaugural African Poetry Prize, an award earmarked for poets who have yet to publish a full-length poetry collection. She was chosen from a shortlist of six candidates out of a total 655 entries.
In October 2013, Shire was also selected from a shortlist of six young bards as the first Young Poet Laureate for London. The honour is part of the London Legacy Development Corporation’s Spoke programme, which focuses on promoting arts and culture in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding area.
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Wangari Ngugi is the daughter of the late Ngugi Wa Mirii. She was born in exile in Harare, Zimbabwe and thus goes by the name ‘daughter of exile’. She is inspired to write by her experiences growing up as well as current economic, social and political issues affecting our world today.
She is a passionate performer who hopes to be published by the end of 2011, who is currently working on a book as well as a compilation of her poetry. She has written two poems for the ‘We want Peace’ campaign spear headed by Emmanuel Jal aimed at creating awareness about the need for global action to prevent war in Sudan. Her work can also be found www.myndz-community.com where she blogs occasionally.
Yewande Omotoso was born in Barbados in 1980 and grew up in Nigeria with her Barbadian mother, Nigerian father and two older brothers. The family moved to South Africa in 1992.
Yewande trained as an architect at the University of Cape Town, to which she returned after working as an architect for several years, to complete a Masters degree in Creative Writing. The product of her degree is her debut novel Bomboy published in 2011 by Cape Town publisher Modjaji Books. Bomboy was shortlisted for the 2012 Sunday Times Literary Awards as well as the MNet Film Award, it won the South African Literary Award (SALA) for First Time Author Prize. Prior to Bomboy Yewande authored several stories, among them The Piano (2nd Place, People Opposing Women Abuse, 2005) and Maude Hastings (Honourable Mention, John La Rose Short Story Competition, 2007). In addition she has published Heroes with online crime fiction magazine Noir Nation and Two Old People in the anthology Speaking for the Generation: Contemporary Stories from Africa. Yewande’s poetry (Stranger and The Rain) has been published in the ‘Baobab Literary Journal’ 2009. The Rain was shortlisted for the Sol Plaatjie European Union Poetry Awards 2012.
Omotoso, for whom writing is a means to make sense of the world, is interested in the complexity of human experiences as well as the incongruities of life. Loneliness is a recurring theme. Omotoso views her writing as a tool for compassion and evoking self-examination. For her talent and the intent to tell stories, she credits her parents and a childhood steeped in reading and the sharing of ideas.
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Goodenough Mashego is an editor, artist, publisher, journalist, published author (Journey with me and Taste of My Vomit) and a social commentator based in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga. His poetry has appeared in various anthologies such as Botsotso, Timbila, New Coin, Green Dragon, Fidelities and ten others. Mashego is a literary critic and publishes two arts and culture blogs, Kasiekulture and MSHINI WAM.
Bantu Letter is his first editorial project.