Mdantsane poet Pheliswa Nonfenu, who goes by the stage name Nolinothi Ntombezinyanya, found refuge in writing poems when her schoolmates teased her when she struggled at school.
Today, she is a step closer to fulfilling her goal of seeing her work published.
This is after she won the Best Writer at the Mzantsi Arts and Media Awards recently.
The NU10 resident said it was being chosen by her life orientation teacher to participate in a school poetry competition that introduced her to the written word. She mixes isixhosa and English.
Her writing tackles daily challenges such as gender-based violence and femicide, love, faith and motivation.
Nonfenu believes poetry helps people get to know each other and build communities. She posts some of her poems on her social media pages.
“Even at school, when I wasn’t coping, it gave me a chance to express myself.
“I got strength from my ability to write poems.
“Other schoolchildren used to laugh at me; I struggled with reading, but I realised that I needed to continue writing and now for me to be a best writer among upcoming artists is a big deal,” she said.
“My friends put my name forward for the awards, and I got a call from the awards people to submit my work.
“People voted for me. I was shocked when my name was announced as the winner.
“I’m thankful to everyone who voted,” she said.
Among her accolades are second prize in an indigenous poetry competition by Somafco (Solomon Mahlungu Feedom College Trust) in 2020, first prize in the battle of colleges and community literature in 2016, best poet in colleges in East London and best poet in public high schools of Mdantsane in 2011.
Nonfenu said the recognition placed her among wellknowns writers in the industry. She hoped it would open more doors for her.
She said the award came with money which she hoped to use to realise her dream.
She has written more than 50 poems; poets like Lebo Mashile and Jessica Mbangeni inspire her.
“I have been pushing for a while with no funding but I’m happy I won this prestigious award.
“It has opened doors for me and I will be able to publish my first book of poems from the money that comes with the award.
“This changes everything and it’s motivating me to not give up because I’ve had a tough journey.”
She has also written books — Imbeleko Yamgodusa Umntwana Wenkazana, based on her life story, and She Overslept, about her spiritual journey — that have yet to be published.
“I want to inspire other poets to never give up. I will be hosting a poetry concert for poets to showcase their talent and celebrate each other.
“Poetry and writing means a lot to me. I change people’s lives through my work.”
