Koleka Putuma

Koleka Putuma is a multi-award-winning theatre practitioner, writer and poet. Her poetry tackles themes such as homophobia, womanhood, race and the dynamics of relationships, religion and politics. Her poetry is sharp and thought provoking, unique in its form, language and structure. Every line, a powerful statement of what she stands for. Her debut collection of poems, Collective Amnesia, was published in April 2017. It was awarded the 2018 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, it was named 2017 book of the year by the City Press and one of the best books of 2017 by The Sunday Times and Quartz Africa. Collective Amnesia has been translated in 8 languages. In April 2021, Manyano Media published her sophomore collection of poems, Hullo, Bu-Bye, Koko, Come In. The author has already received numerous other awards for her literary work. She is the Founder and Director of Manyano Media, a multidisciplinary creative company that empowers and produces stories and works by black queer women.