Bhengu's hiatus allowed for reflection, introspection, and the humility to be receptive to other people's work.
Poet Zewande BK Bhengu had stepped away from competing on poetry stages for the better part of a decade.
However, on his first return to this fierce environment last weekend, he was crowned the Slam Poetry Champion for 2025.
“When we talk about slamming, we’re referring to competitive poetry spaces where poets pit their work against one another and that work is adjudicated,” Bhengu tells The Citizen.
The 29th Poetry Africa festival, presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, closed on Saturday at Seabrooke’s Theatre.
In the Slam Jam Finale, Bhengu took on four other poets: Belita Andre, Karabo Bopape, Tiisetso Maeane and Tshepo Molefe. Maeane was second, with Andre coming in third.
Poet Quaz Roodt hosted the contest.
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Bhengu is focusing on his craft
Despite his appreciation for competition, the 34-year-old poet says his hiatus from that space was partly because many of his peers were beginning to drift away from the scene.
“…and with that, some of the excitement began to fade for me as well.”
“At the same time, I wanted to focus on refining my craft beyond the immediacy of the slam stage and to grow as a writer outside the pressures of scored performances. The climate within the spoken word community was also shifting, and I found myself uneasy with the direction things were taking.”
During this time, Bhengu did perform as a guest on various platforms, but none of them were competitive.
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Bhengu’s growth away from stage
Bhengu says that being an observer and consumer, as opposed to being a participant, allowed for reflection, introspection, and the humility to be docile before other people’s work.
“Because my intention with my writing changed, it allowed me to be a lot more experimental with subject matter, language, perspective and not worry about whether the judges will understand or not,” the writer says.
Like a mad literary scientist, he says he became increasingly preoccupied with creating work that would be thrilling to read as well.
“Work that you can go back to time and time again and find nuggets hidden in nuggets as you unpack the work. Uncovering new layers and hidden nuances each time,” he shares.
He says this intent is evinced in his 2021 book, Children Of Ghosts.
The book is a poetry anthology that offers insight into the discourse and reality of Black masculinity in South Africa, amid the politics of economy, culture, sexual abuse, and freedom.
Children of Ghost also attempts to offer personal insight into the plight of being an artist and exercising that freedom while being Black, a man, and living in South Africa.
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Representing SA
Bhengu’s win at the Poetry Africa Festival’s Slam Poetry Champion means he will now represent South Africa at the 2026 World Poetry Slam Championships.
He doesn’t take lightly the responsibility of representing Mzansi.
“I fully recognise and appreciate the magnitude of this opportunity and what it means, not just for me but for South Africa’s rich literary industry,” he says.
“I have always maintained that South Africa produces some of the finest spoken word poets in the world, and I can only hope that I am cut from that same cloth and that I will be enough to bring it home.”
He says he won’t be taking another hiatus anytime soon.
“With great thanks to Poetry Africa Festival, I am back on my horse, and I would like to ride as far as I can, beyond the World Championships.”
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