Local poet Motlalekgotso Ponya aims to encourage young people to be creative and provide them with a platform to do so.
Ponya, who was born and raised in Tsolobeng Hamlet in Mount Fletcher, was one of the winners of Amazwiethu – South African Tales, a creative writing competition for unpublished authors in 2011.
His poem Another Day in Mount Fletcher was included in a book called Amazwiethu South African Tales, with other winning entries.
He was also featured on Kaya FM’s Poetic Corner slot on the Saturdays.
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Ponya recently headlined Soweto Theatre’s Heritage Month edition of Poetic Thursdays.
He hopes to inspire Africans to utilise their languages creatively as a self-published author of the Sesotho poetry book Letotoba.
In a vocabulary brimming with metaphors, adages and idioms, he writes on challenges while also addressing the past.
The book contains 39 poems that cover a variety of topics, including spirituality, domesticity, love and relationships, death, politics, nature and inspiration.
“Being a poet is something I’m proud of, since it implies I have a message to share with the world. It’s a feeling of pleasure in realising what a fantastic talent I have. Once upon a time, poetry was an adult-dominated part of the literary world; novels still are, except for a few teen authors, but recently, poetry has increasingly become a space for young people,” said Ponya.
“I sought inspiration everywhere when I first found poetry. I didn’t think I had anything to say, so I just wrote what I imagined poetry should sound like. I’ve discovered what actually motivates me. I discovered my own voice. And I learned that the finest poetry is written from personal experience. My heart was transformed into descriptive, gorgeous and even hideous phrases. It is impossible, in my opinion, to make terrible work out of true feelings and inspiration.”
He aims to inspire young people with his poetry.
“For those in the same profession, I would advise to follow their hearts. They should not aim to be like anybody else. They should try to be as unique as possible while communicating their message to the public.
“They must remember that the task is larger than them. At the end of the day, it is all about the message, not the message’s delivery.
“If you put your heart and soul into anything, it will show. It will make contact with someone. It’ll be stunning,” said Ponya.
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