Tag Archives: Reflection

Paulination

South Africa No Comments

PAULINATION is an outspoken voice that captures people in passing and makes them listen,he speaks of human experience in different categories revolving around issues faced by society like drugs, sexual abuse and racial tension. He incorporates dramatical aspects mixed with energetic movements and wonderful click sounds into his stories, what makes him different is the lyrical mixture that cuts through the barrier between Zulu and English.

This outspoken storyteller is originally from a group of poets called Nowadays Poets.

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.

Pitika Ntuli

South Africa No Comments

Pitika Ntuli is an internationally renowned poet, fine artist and academic. He is widely sought-after as a public speaker and commentator on arts and culture, indigenous knowledge systems and African scholarship. As an acclaimed poet, his poetry has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies.

Ntuli holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute in New York, USA. He spent his exile years in the U.K. where he helped establish one of Europe’s leading poetry circuits, Apples & Snakes in London. While in London, Ntuli also lectured in Fine Art and English Literature and he worked closely with Amnesty International and Index-on-Censorship.

Ntuli returned to South Africa at the end of 1994 and lectured at the former University of the Witwatersrand before joining the staff of the former University of Durban-Westville in 1995 as Head of the Fine Art Department.

Pitika Ntuli has held several portfolios on boards including the BAT Centre Trust, Universal Creative Arts and Artists for Human Rights. Ntuli was also co-director of the Awesome Africa Music Festival. He is currently Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

Pitika Ntuli has performed his poetry with leading musicians like the late Dudu Pukwana, Mervin Africa, Julian Bahula, Lucky Ranku and Eugene Skeef and has toured Europe several times with his poetry. His poetry has received critical acclaim around the world. In 2004, Ntuli performed at the inauguration of former South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Also a sculptor, Ntuli recently held a solo exhibition Scent of Invisible Footprints in Moments of Complexity at Museum Africa in Johannesburg. His book Scent of Invisible Footprints: The Sculpture of Pitika Ntuli is also an exploration of his art form.

Pieter Odendaal

South Africa No Comments

Pieter Odendaal started out as a boerseun in Bloemfontein and has a BA and half of an abandoned BSc-degree. He is the co-founder and project manager of SLiP, the Stellenbosch Literary Project, which creates and nourishes analogue and digital platforms of creative engagements with words. The project’s website focuses on contemporary South African books, “poetries”, cultures and initiatives around multilingualism and translation. He also co-coordinates the popular InZync Poetry Sessions and high school poetry workshops with his partner in rhyme, Adrian Different.

He hopes to publish his debut poetry collection sometime soon. A handful of his Afrikaans poems appeared in Nuwe Stemme 5 (2013). In 2015, he’ll be studying things about sustainable development and how to save the world.

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers

South Africa No Comments

Multi-award winning poet, playwright and performance artist, Phillippa Yaa de Villiers is a graduate of the Lecoq International School of Theatre in Paris. Her poetry ranges from the private to the political, exploring matters serious, satirical and sensual. She has a prolific portfolio of national and international stage and television productions. Taller than Buildings is first collection of poetry.

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Pearl Sanelisiwe Ndlovu

South Africa No Comments

Pearl Sanelisiwe Ndlovu sought solace in words and poetry at the age of 15 when her beloved grandmother passed away.

Commonly known as Le Soulful Poet Gatsheni, Pearl is a young poet from Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Her work delves into varied topics but she mainly uses her words as way to make sense of life’s challenges. She improves her writing and reciting skills by performing as much as she can in her hometown.

Pearl has an insatiable passion for art, she believes poetry is her calling and not a mere hobby. “We are the prophets of the past, present and future” she says.

Rachel Solomon

South Africa No Comments

Rachel is a 21 year old student completing her BA in English and History, with the hope of pursuing an honours in English in post-modern literature, creative writing and poetry.

Rachael has been doing poetry for most of her life, but only recently has she been exposed to the Durban poetry circle and culture. A lover of all types of poetry, specifically performance and spoken word poetry, and the conversational tone these styles create. Rachel’s love for words, rhythm and delivery originates from her childhood experience of listening to Jazz with her father. A love that would later shape into Rap and Hip Hop. She has performed in various open mic sessions and participated in a number of poetry sessions with the Word Architeks.

Rustum Kozain

South Africa No Comments

Rustum Kozain was born in 1966 in Paarl, South Africa. Studied for several years at the University of Cape Town; spent ten months (1994-1995) in the United States of America on a Fulbright Scholarship. Returned to South Africa and lectured in the Department of English at UCT from 1998 to 2004, teaching in the fields of literature, film, and popular culture.
Poetry published in local and international journals; debut volume, This Carting Life, published in 2005 (Kwela/Snailpress). Awarded the Ingrid Jonker Poetry Prize.

Roger Bonair-Agard

United States No Comments

Roger Bonair-Agard is a native of Trinidad and Tobago, a Cave Canem fellow and author of two collections of poetry, tarnish & masquerade (Cypher Books, 2006) and GULLY (Cypher Books, Peepal Tree Press, 2010).

He is co-author of a third collection, Burning Down the House (Soft Skull Press, 2000). An MFA candidate at the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast program, Roger is also a 2-time National Poetry Slam Champion and the co-founder and Artistic Director of the louderARTS Project. He is poet-in-residence at Young Chicago Authors and teaches at the Cook County Juvenile detention Center. He lives mostly in Chicago.

Redseed

South Africa No Comments

Babalwa RedSeed Ngcivana was born a muted soul, unable to express feeling, so she screams through scripted thoughts. She hails from Eastern Cape, South Africa.

She is a creative soul who believes that we are all sent with a message to deliver on this earth, everyone we meet has something to transfer unto us whether it’s good or bad. At the end it is all about how we react to the message that will determine if we rise.

Raul Alves da Silva Calane

Mozambique No Comments

Mozambican writer and essayist Raul Alves da Silva Calane was born in the city of Maputo on 20th October 1945. He grew up and studied in the city. Very early in his life he began and was involved with journalism and literature. He led the Gazeta Artes e Letras da revista Tempo (Gazette of Arts and Letters of the Time Magazine) in 1985, and was appointed in 1987, head of the editorial board of the national television, then called “Televisao Experiemental de Mocambique” (Experimental Television of Mozambique). He also became a founding member and board member of the Association of Mozambican Writers.
He earned a master’s degree in Portuguese Linguistics from the University of Porto, with a dissertation on “Pedagogia do léxico : as escolhas lexicais bantus, os neologismos luso-rongas e a sua função estilística e estético-nacionalista nas obras Xigubo e Karingana wa Karingana de José Craveirinha” (The Pedagogy of the lexicon: the Bantu lexical choices, the neologisms Luso-Ronga and its stylistic and aesthetic function in the works and Xigubo Karingana wa Karingana of Jose Craveirinha).
Calane da Silva is currently a lecturer at the Language Centre of Universidade Pedagogica (Pedagogical University) and the Director of the Centro Cultural Brasil-Moçambique (Cultural Centre Brasil-Mozambique), both in Maputo. He is also the author, editor of several essays, novels and anthologies, which include: Dos meninos da Malanga. Maputo, Cadernos Tempo, 1982 (Poetry); Xicandarinha na lenha do mundo. Maputo, Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos, 1988. Colecção Karingana (Short Stories). Gotas de Sol. Maputo, Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos, 2006 (novel); A Pedagogia do Léxico. O Estiloso Craveirinha. As escolhas leixicais bantus, os neologismos luso-rongas e a sua função estilística e estético-nacionalista nas obras Xigubo e Karingana wa Karingama. Maputo, Imprensa Universitária, 2002 (Thesis Publication); Nyembêtu ou as Cores da Lágrima. Lisboa. Texto Editores. 2008 (Novel).

Rachael Kainyu Njeri

Kenya No Comments

Rachael Kainyu Njeri is a Kenyan poet who began writing, as most do, in high school to help her through adolescence. With time it became more than just venting and now she has a blog where she posts her work. She is quite young in the performance scene but has performed with the Sanaa Fusion. Her work has been featured on a couple of sites including Wamathai.com and B-Gina Reviews.

Siyanda Solilo

South Africa No Comments

Siyanda Solilo who is affectionately known as IThole lomgquba by his fans and dear supporters hails from the talent-rich Motherwell Township in the Eastern cape.

Ithole Lomgquba has been active around the Neslon Mandela Bay steadily building street credibility and networking with the like-minded artists. He has performed at sessions like the Elements Of Hip Hop, Grassroots arts Festival 2012, What’s Up sessions, Bring it to the cypher to mention a few.

Sininho Paco

Mozambique No Comments

Sininho Paco (Licínio Paco.) He was born in Maputo, Mozambique on August 23, 1977.  He embraced music, dance, theatre and reading from an early age and found himself in poetry and uses it as a window to tweak the universe. This turned him into a devourer of words and a poet of love and sorrow who embraces the world.

In 2003, along with friends and respected Mozambican musician Stewart Sukumah, he delved into the adventure of performing poetry with music, which culminated in the creation of the arts movement “SEM CRITICA” which, with the aim of promoting culture, created space for new poets and musicians. He began performing live at concerts, workshops with university and High School students in Maputo, and other spoken word events. He has participated at all SEM CRITICA performances, from 2003 to date.

In 2005 he won a creative writing contest organised by the Bank Millennium Bim (BCP). He has participated in the Festival “The Power of Voice” organised by the British Council. In 2006, he won the Honourable Mention at biennial TDM-Telecommunications of Mozambique Creative Writing Contest. Internationally he has participated in the Poetry Africa Festival in Durban, South Africa, the 1st poetry festival in Paris and the International Poetry Festival Lusofonia in Boston, Masachusetts.

Given his passion for photography and other visual arts, he was commissioned to translate the images into poetic space for the Photography and Poetry Exhibition called “Crossroads” of the Mozambican photographer Bocarro Hunguana, held in Geneva, Switzerland and as well as photographer Mauro Pinto. He also contributed to Deidre Watson photography exhibition “Tacteando Momentos”. In the field of painting, he participated in the exhibition “Africa en el alma” by Ruth Banon, held in Spain, Alicante, and sculpture exhibitions by Gonçalo Mabunda, in Mozambique and Paris. Currently, Licinio Paco (Paco Tinkerbell) participates in various collaborations with spoken word artists in Maputo and abroad. He is also working on the last bits and pieces to edit his first collection of poems The Drip of the Soul.

Shirmoney Rhode

South Africa No Comments

Shirmoney Rhode is a young writer, poet and performer. She grew up in Elsies River, Cape Town. Many of her works reflect on her childhood experiences and give voice to the things that she experienced and continues to experience. She has seven of her poems published in 7de Re‘nboog, compiled by Florris Brown.

She has performed the works of various poets at seminars together with Prof Antjie Krog of the University of the Western Cape. She was also performed alongside Mak Manaka and Karin Schimke at the Badilisha Poetry X-change’s 100 Thousand Poets for Change.

She is studying at the University of the Western Cape and has recently completed her honours in Afrikaans & Nederlands. She is currently completing her post graduate diploma in education and thereafter she wants to pursue a career in journalism. She is passionate about what she does and uses her writing to inspire change; change of mind and change of heart.

Shabbir Banoobhai

South Africa No Comments

Shabbir Banoobhai’s poetry is spiritual, political and personal with the three themes interwoven, the personal poems often having a political dimension and the political, a spiritual. A child of parents who came to South Africa from India, he was born in Durban in 1949, where he lived for most of his life until he moved to Cape Town in 1995. He Of necessity he shared the fate of the larger black community of South Africans, his poetry reflecting that struggle. He qualified as a teacher in 1970, as a Chartered Accountant in 1978, and as a Chartered Management Accountant in 1983. Lectured at the University of Durban-Westville from mid 1977 to the end of 1982; ran a management consultancy practice in Durban from 1983 to 1995; and joined Old Mutual in Cape Town in January 1996.

Retired in November 2005; and is now a full-time writer. Some of his works, in full, include: echoes of my other self; shadows of a sun-darkened land; inward moon outward sun; if i could write: Ramadan letters that can be read at Christmas or on any other day; and lyrics in paradise. He is the recipient of the Thomas Pringle Award for Poetry. What is particularly striking about his poetry is its complete sincerity, described as, “a luminous work of the heart containing profound reflections on the nature of the Divine, Prophetic and human consciousness, love, justice, peace and war. A genuine and original Sufi primer for the 21st-century seeker, reflecting an important development in contemporary ‘South African spiritual thought'”.

Sarah Frost

South Africa No Comments

Sarah Frost is 39 years old, married to David, and mother to a son and daughter. She works as an editor for Juta Legalbrief in Durban, South Africa.

She has been writing poetry for the past fourteen years. She has completed an MA in English Literature, and also a module on Creative Writing, through UKZN. She has been published in various SA journals, and also some in the US. Her first anthology, Conduit, was published by Modjaji Books in the first quarter of 2011.

Sandile Dikeni

South Africa No Comments

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).

Sandhya Mathura

South Africa No Comments

Sandhya was born on the North Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal in 1987. She grew up in the quaint village of Seatides which is situated along the sugar-cane belt of the Tongaat district. As a child her irrepressible curiosity often resulted in painful consequences. She was not content with the banal knowledge that the switch turns on the light. No. She had to know how hot the bulb actually burnt. Fortunately this precocious, mischievous mind was soon harnessed by the creative outlets of poetry and short story writing. She matriculated from Seatides Combined School at the age of 16. After working an assortment of part-time jobs she moved to Cape Town to complete a diploma in Audio Engineering at the Cape Audio College. Since then Sandhya has completed a B.A. (Hons) degree in English Language and Literature Studies at the University of Cape Town.

She has always written poetry, sometimes in secret, sometimes for the amusement of friends and family. Most often her cautious, quiet scribblings were the cathartic, emotional outpourings borne of personal trauma or victory. Now she writes outside of herself. Some of these latest poems form a triptych of sorts which probe and subvert idiosyncratic aspects of diasporic Indian culture. Persistent themes in these pieces include: the patriarchal appropriation of Hindu scriptural teachings, the conflation of fear and respect by young ones” towards “their elders”, and finally the preoccupation with masking familial discord and domestic abuse in order to keep up appearances within one’s community.

Sandhya currently plans to forge links with local NGOs that share her vision for equitable access to tertiary education across the nation’s polarised socio-economic landscape.

Samantha Thornhill

Trinidad and Tobago No Comments

Samantha Thornhill travels the globe performing poetry, delivering lectures, and facilitating writing workshops. Both a poet and published author, Samantha is a rising voice in the world of words. Her performance poem, Little Odetta, inspired by the late folk legend, is forthcoming from Scholastic Press in the form of a picture book. Also, her young adult novel Seventeen Seasons is soon to be published by Penguin Books.

Samantha earned her Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the University of Virginia while coaching the VA slam team. A sought-after educator, Samantha believes that inside each person exists a lover of words.

In New York City she fulfills her position as poetry professor at the Juilliard School. She also serves as writer in residence at the Bronx Academy of Letters where she teaches creative writing and journalism courses to middle and high school youth.

She presents her work in schools, universities, festivals, conferences, museums, places of worship, and poetry venues.

Raw and refined, diverse in subject matter and style, Samantha relates to a wide spectrum of audiences.

She is a native of Trinidad & Tobago.

Sakhi Dongadala Sogcwe

South Africa No Comments

Sakhi Sogcwe, also known as Dongadala, is a traditional poet based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He is a Imbongi Yethongo meaning he receives his poems in dreams. He performs at weddings, traditional ceremonies, and other shows within his community.

Sakhi has won numerous awards and competitions. He is also performance co-ordinator and he mentors people to write and recite poetry.

Synik

Zimbabwe No Comments

Synik is a hiphop and spoken word artist from the vibrant streets of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. The lyrically dexterous MC is one of the most exciting young artists in Zimbabwe right now. Thriving on versatility, Synik switches easily from cleverly crafted soulful hiphop joints to hardhitting lyrical raps and spoken word pieces. A gifted rhyme – storyteller Synik is known for weaving words to create visual poetic pieces. The ever growing artist recently picked up guitar playing and has incorporated acoustic guitar to his performances. He prefers to use his close relationship with words to influence positive change and inspire people, seeking to ‘write songs to right wrongs’. Affiliated with Zimbabwe’s cultural activist movement, Synik understands that art should be used to address society’s ills and he aims to do more than merely entertain with his work. Influenced a lot by conscious hiphop and neosoul music, the artists lyrics are mainly an expression of what the he encounters in life.

“The soul of Harare’s conscious Hip Hop is in the safe hands of a small group of rappers. Among them is Synik who brings some positive and thoughtful messages at a time when just about every cheap African rapper is claiming a million haters and self-stamping themselves as “King of Swag”. (the peoples hub).While in high school a young Synik started putting his thoughts into raps in his school note books having been a fan of hiphop since he got introduced to the culture in his childhood. His high school had a large community of people who were also drawn to hiphop as an art-form. He was briefly part of Bulawayo based underground outfit, Encrypted Minds in 2001. The moniker is a remnant of this phase in his growth when he was influenced by hardcore underground hiphop. He started recording late 2003 in Harare, a period where he worked with the Phranchyze members Phlow and BC. His first release was an EP (The Beta Version 2008) which highlighted Synik’s storytelling skills and lyrical prowess. The EP has been labelled a street classic by some and it earned Synik respect in Zimbabwe’s hiphop community. He also released a single (God within/Find a way 2010) which revealed a more soulful Synik. He has featured on numerous projects including the African hip-hop mixtape 2, as well as collaborations with numerous Zimbabwean and African acts (Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya).

His performing career developed when he got into Harare’s lively spoken word/hiphop scene. He would soon become one of the most regular hiphop and spoken word performers at events such as Mashoko, The Circle, Chimoto Poetry Slams (Alliance Francaise), and the Acoustic Nights (Zimbabwe German Society). In 2010 as part of Poeticause he was involved in the Theatrical/ Poetry production ’Prisms’ with fellow poets Blackpearl, Nebila, Flowchild and Aerosol. Some of his notable performances were at The 2010 Bulawayo edition of the Zimbabwe Social Forum, The One Day Hiphop Festival (Alliance Francaise), 2011 Independence Day Concert (with the hiphop band, the Monkeynuts), The Republic of Pungwe Launch and The Shoko International Hip Hop festival. If he is not on stage Synik can be easily spotted throwing rhymes in a cipher on Harare’s streets.With a number of projects scheduled to come in the near future Synik is set to continue making waves in Zimbabwean hiphop and beyond.

Suné Ashlulita van Rooyen

South Africa No Comments

Suné Ashlulita van Rooyen was born in the small town of Brandvlei in the heart of the Northern Cape. In 2010 she started her BA degree in Afrikaans and Nederlands and Psychology at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), which she completed in 2013. Currently she doing her Honours in Afrikaans and Nederlands also at UWC.

Suné aspires to be a teacher with the option of becoming a paediatric psychologist.

SoProfound

Zimbabwe No Comments

Zimbabwean poet SoProfound started performing poetry in 2009 but became active in the poetry circles in 2010. He has shared his work at events such as the House of Hunger Poetry Slam Zimbabwe, Mashoko! (The spoken word and hip-hop event hosted by Magamba), House of Hunger Poetry Slam South Africa, The Experience (nu-verb), Poetry and Music (part of the poetry and… series).

Skietreker

South Africa No Comments

Skietreker ( Reitumetse Richard Segopolo Seape) is a poet, author and performer from Thabanchu in the Free State. He writes his metaphors and similes in English, Setswana, Sesotho and Afrikaans, penning about subjects relating to racism, discrimination, abuse, poverty, Aids, spirituality, love and social ills affecting the youth.

He has performed on stages like Macufe annual festival (2005). In 2007 his poem titled Spiritual Struggle was published in an anthology called A Prayer Away in Durban. He is also a former member of the poetry group Infinite Motions (2008). He has appeared on Frenzy (ETV), Street Journal (SABC 1) and Lentswe poetry project (SABC 2). He was also the founder of Boston Poetry Movement (2008) and the brains behind the initiative of Velocity open mic sessions at iBurst in Durban.

In 2009 he was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the Bloemfontein public library in recognition of valuable contribution to literature in the Free Sate. He published his first collection of poems titled Apartheid Ek Gaan Jou Boks in 2007 and in 2012 he received assistance from the department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation to republish his power packed Apartheid Ek Gaan Jou Boks vol 2. He was also a volunteer for the SA Literary Awards 2012, and he also performed & rendered a creative writing, poetry workshop for Legae Primary School at Africa Century International African Writers Conference and shared a stage with Tinah Mnumzana, Lesego Motsepe, Hector Kunene and Charmaine Mrwebi.

Sitawa Namwalie

Kenya No Comments

Sitawa Namwalie is a poet, writer and performer interested in how Africans are defining themselves in today’s world. In writing she finds her expression. In 2008 her first dramatised poetry show by the name Cut Off My Tongue was successfully performed in different venues in Nairobi. In 2009, her first book of poetry, Cut Off My Tongue was published. Later the same year, the show was performed at the prestigious Hay Festival in the UK. And in 2012 it was performed in Uganda. She was nominated for the Freedom to Create Prize in 2010 for the courage and positive social influence of her poetry.

In 2011, her second show of dramatised poetry called Homecoming was performed in Nairobi to rave reviews. In April 2012 Cut off my Tongue was selected by TED Talks on a global search for the new and undiscovered as a performance worth spreading.

Sitawa has worked in the development sector for many years with NGOs and with UNDP, USAID and IUCN. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany and Zoology from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Arts degree in Environment, Society and Technology from Clark University in Massachusetts, USA. She works as a development consultant in the areas of environment, gender and governance.

Sitawa has achieved excellence in many areas of life, including representing Kenya in tennis and hockey in her youth. She is a mother of three gorgeous children and is married to a man of rare generosity.

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Siphiwe Ka Ngwenya

South Africa No Comments

SIPHIWE KA NGWENYA was born in Soweto in 1964. He is a writer, theatre director and performer. He has a diploma in Speech and Drama from Fuba Academy and participated in a Voter Education play commissioned by the Matla Trust in 1994. He was a member of the Rishile Theatre Project that presented plays by Nadine Gordimer and Don Mattera and since 1994 has been a member of the Botsotso Jesters poetry performance group.

Ngwenya has performed internationally in countries as diverse as Denmark and Pakistan. A selection of his poetry was published in the 1992 anthology, Essential Things. Other publications that have included his work are Ingolovane, Botsotso, New Coin, Timbila, Kotaz, It All Begins and Writing from Here. A collection of his poems, Soul Fire, was published in 2005 by Botsotso.

Shunshine

South Africa No Comments

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

Shailja Patel

Kenya No Comments

Kenyan poet SHAILJA PATEL was trained as a political economist, accountant and yoga teacher. She honed her poetic skills in performances that have received standing ovations on four continents.

Her US publishing debut, Migritude, based on her acclaimed one-woman show, went to #1 on Amazon’s bestsellers in Asian Poetry, and was a Seattle Times bestseller – extremely rare for a poetry collection.

Patel has been African Guest Writer at Sweden’s Nordic Africa Institute and poet-in-residence at the Tallberg Forum, Sweden’s alternative to Davos. She has appeared on the BBC World Service, NPR and Al-Jazeera. Her work has been translated into 16 languages. Honours include a Sundance Theatre Fellowship, a Creation Fund Award from the National Performance Network, the Fanny-Ann Eddy Poetry Award from IRN-Africa, the Voices of Our NationsPoetry Award, a Lambda Slam Championship, and the Outwrite Poetry Prize.

Patel is a founding member of Kenyans For Peace, Truth and Justice, a civil society coalition which works for an equitable democracy in Kenya. In 2011, the African Women’s Development Fund named her one of Fifty Inspirational African Feminists for the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, ELLE India Magazine selected her as one of its 25 New Guard Influencers, and Poetry Africa honored her as Letters To Dennis Poet, continuing the legacy of renowned poet-activist Dennis Brutus.

Sfiso Riccardo Shezi

South Africa No Comments

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

South Africa No Comments

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.