Our database contains comprehensive biographies and information on artists affiliated with Spoken Minds philosophy of, “using spoken word/art as a medium to facilitate social change.”
By booking these artists through the Spoken Mind database you are contributing to our causes and our philosophy, therefore, YOU are CHANGING LIVES!
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Natalia Molebatsi is a prolific writer, performance poet, workshop facilitator and programme director who has presented shows such as An Evening with Alice Walker, Urban Voices, International Spoken Word Festival, and an evening with the father of Ehio-jazz, Mulatu Astatke. Since 2005, she has performed with acclaimed artists such as Simphiwe Dana, Sibongile Khumalo and Maya Angelou, Gcina Mhlophe, Lebo Mashile, Jimmy Dludlu, Tu Nokwe, Sello Galane, Napo Masheane and Thandiswa Mazwai.
The Tembisa-born and raised Natalia continues to touch her way into the world of words, blues, and love. She has performed in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Holland, Italy, Nigeria, Senegal and Arzerbaijan… www.nataliamolebatsi.co.za
Books:
# Sardo Dance, Natalia Molebatsi, Ge’ko Publishing, 2009.
# We are…, Compiled and Edited by Natalia Molebatsi, Penguin Books, 2008.
Phillippa Yaa de Villiers was born on February 17, 1966 in Halfway House close to Johannesburg. She studied journalism in Grahamstown and theater in Paris. In the late 1990s she returned to university to earn a degree in dramatics arts, thereby combining her two passions, writing and performance. She also spend some time in Los Angeles, U.S.A., before she returned to settle in Johannesburg.
De Villiers makes her living by working for theatre, teaching and writing for stage and television. As a poet she has performed her poetry all over the world, f. e. in Adelaide, Havana, Birmingham, Durban, Stockholm, London, Berlin and Johannesburg.
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Born a writer, Thabiso Mohare’s biggest challenge has always been words. Words create and words destroy. As a word-smith, he struggles to find the fine balance between what is and what is not. Birth name, thabiso mohare- a tswana boy- born in 1982, assuming the alias Afurakan provided not only meaning to his life but also identity. An african as the name translates. Through poetry Afurakan has found a way to deal with his demons, joys, trials and tribulations and the occasional creativity outburst.
Through his writings, he echoes the new voice of South African literature and oral arts and tells stories of victories and challenges that face this young and vibrant nation. Women and child abuse, xenophobia, self empowerment and everyday stories of the world around him, these are some of the issues this young scribe tackles through his words. As a performer, Afurakan brings to stage a fresh and dynamic energy that both educates and entertains. Fusing spoken word, jazz and hip-hop, listeners are taken through a journey of art and self exploration that
aims to inspire and eradicate stereotypes around poetry and the need for the youth to be heard.
Afurakan is also a member of “The Missing Gap”, a piece poetry, jazz and hiphop band. Comprising of a beatbox artist, a DJ, a music producer and a poet, The Missing Gap gives rhythm & poetry a new exciting look and sound. Off-stage, thabiso is an entrepreneur and youth activist.He has also been actively involved in creating platforms for youth expression by setting up and running poetry and music open mic shows and work shopping young artists on creative writing and stage performances. http://www.reverbnation.com/afurakan
Myesha Jenkins shares her life experience with an unusual openness and emotional honesty. Her concise writing style is humorous, revealing and challenging. She speaks with the voice of a woman who has lived a full life.
Myesha’s poetry has appeared in journals and magazines that include, Timbila, Botsotso, Kotaz, Tribute and True Love. She is also featured in Insight: Six South African Poets. She has also performed her poetry on radio and TV in South Africa. A founding member of the Feela Sistah! Spoken Word Collective, she has performed to great acclaim at amongst others; the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, Mangaung Cultural Festival (Macufe) and Durban’s Poetry Africa 2004 hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Myesha regularly appears at corporate and community events and was recently part of Exodus Live Poetry! in Botswana. She currently works with the Jozi House of Poetry which hosts a monthly session in Johannesburg to provide a platform for new and emerging poets.
Myesha works in community development and is a regular at jazz clubs, bookstores and friends’ kitchens in and around jozi. She began writing poems after immigrating to South Africa from the USA in 1993 and tresures the creative leap.
Born in 1948, Myesha spent most of her life in California. She graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a BA degree in Black Studies. She moved to South Africa from the San Francisco Bay Bay Area where was active in progressive politics, the women’s movement and the and the anti-apartheid struggle.
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