Natalia Molebatsi is a South African writer, poet, performer, editor, and cultural organizer.
Biography Natalia Molebatsi was born and raised in the township of Tembisa, near Johannesburg in South Africa.Natalia Molebatsi page at Poemhunter.com."Interview with South African Writer, Natalia Molebatsi", Geosi Reads, 2013.
She is a Pan-African feminist scholar-poet. She is the author of two poetry collections, Sardo Dance and Elephant Woman Song, and the editor of We Are: A Poetry Anthology"Natalia Molebatsi, South African Poet", UCLA African Studies Center, 12 May 2016. and Wild Imperfections: An Anthology of Womanist Poems. Molebatsi is the co-founder of Black Girls Brilliance, which states: "We center Black Girls narratives to co-create programs that provide them with the support needed to flourish."
Her poetry is included in Lived Resistance against the War on Palestinian Children (edited by Heidi Morrison); Letter to South Africa: Poets Calling the State to Order; Happiness the Delight-Tree: An Anthology of Contemporary International Poetry; New Coin, and New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby)."Don't miss the New Daughters of Africa Women's Month launch in Joburg – with a line-up of literature, music and performances by the contributors (3 Aug)", The Reading List, 2019. Her academic writing is included in books and journals such as the National Political Science Review, Muziki,Natalia Molebatsi & Raphael d'Abdon, "From Poetry to Floetry: Music's Influence in the Spoken Word Art of Young South Africa", Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa, Volume 4, 2007 – Issue 2: Contemporary African Music, pp. 171–177. Agenda Feminist Media and Sasinda Futhi Siselapha: Black Feminist Approaches to Cultural Studies In South Africa's Twenty-Five Years Since 1994.
Molebatsi has performed poetry, facilitated creative writing workshops and presented public speaking seminars in 21 countries including Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, England, Italy, Azerbaijan, Argentina, China, Palestine and Germany. Among notable events she has featured are the Yari Yari Ntoaso women's conference in Ghana, Poetry Africa, Aké Arts and Book Festival in Abeokuta, Lagos International Poetry Festival and the Buenos Aires International Book Fair
Molebatsi is a teacher and PhD candidate in Performance Studies at Northwestern University She has worked at the University of South Africa for more than 15 years in different capacities, including marketing and lecturing. Her scholarship is at the intersections of poetry and performance studies, Pan-African feminist theory, gender and sexuality studies, queer and lesbian theories, Black studies and media studies.
Further reading Khatija Bibi Khan (January 2013), "The creative visions of Natalia Molebatsi in post-1994 South Africa, in Sardo Dance (2009)", Commonwealth Youth and Development, Volume 11, Issue 1, pp. 87–101. Natalia Molebatsi; T Tu Huynh (April 2020), "Our World through Our Words: the People and Their Stories through Our Ancestors' Voices", African and Asian Studies 19(1–2):81–98. Natalia Molebatsi (July 2019), "Affirming Our Memories: Experiences and realities of feminist poets through the radio", Agenda 33(4):1–11.
Links
Cassava Republic Press Black Girls Brilliance National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences
References
Natalia Molebatsi's website "Natalia Molebatsi - Unisa Poetry Sessions", 13 May 2015. YouTube video.