Weaving with words, Mandeni poet gets published in Botsotso

A Mandeni poet is turning a traumatic childhood into verse, and getting them published.

Orphaned as a teenager, Xolani Shezi was raised by his mother and grandmother after his father left the family before his birth.

“My mother always taught me to strive to be the best and to value life. My childhood was not glamorous however, I know poverty firsthand which left me angry and I became highly rebellious,” said Shezi.

It was during his time at Tugela Secondary School when his mother passed away and Shezi recalls feeling lost and unable to deal with his inner turmoil.

“I discovered that poetry was my only therapeutic means of venting out my anger and healing – I could weave infinite possibilities through words alone.”

Coming from humble beginnings, Shezi is a self taught poet who has learned a number of important lessons through his work.

“I always thoroughly research the themes I intend to use in my poetry which forced me to be disciplined and to become more worldly in my knowledge.”

Thus began a journey which has seen him becoming a published poet in a number of different publications.

Most notably, his poem “Marikana Beach” was featured in Botsotso which is a well-known poetry collective.

He is in esteemed company with Botsotso featuring a number of highly regarded South African writers including Antjie Krog and Frank Meintjies.

Shezi also saw three poems published in the Journal of African Youth Literature which gives new creatives a platform to release their work.

He is not resting on his laurels however and he has recently submitted his debut chapbook (a small book of about 15 – 30 poems) for editing which he hopes to see published within the first half of this year.

“I am always pushing myself and my goal is to aggressively inspire the whole world through poetry. I would love to one day see my work published by ‘The Paris Review’ and ‘The New Yorker’.”

He is available for poetry readings and workshops where he aims to help another generation of creatives to find the beauty of poetry for themselves.

You can find “Marikana Beach’ at botsotso.org.za/2020/09/marikana-beach/, and contact Shezi at 082 965 4687.