By Refilwe Mphirime
If multitasker were a name, it would belong to poet, musician, author and lecturer Sizakhele “Siza” Nkosi. The 35-year-old mother of two was born in Johannesburg, Soweto.
She is one of four siblings. Her mother is a retired teacher whose roots originate in Kwazulu Natal and her father is an artist from Swaziland.
Her early development started at St. Matthews Catholic School. She went on to do her undergraduate studies in IT at Durban University of Technology. She later obtained a Master’s degree in creative writing and language and is currently studying towards her Ph.D. in the same field.
“I come from a political family that was into the black consciousness movement. My uncles played a role in the 1976 June 16 Soweto Uprising. They were both sent to exile in the USA. Fortunately, one uncle made it back to South Africa, and the other uncle’s whereabouts are unknown. This has left a void in my heart,” she explains.
Growing up, Siza was an introvert, “I expressed myself through writing, I struggled to blend in as I grew up in a place where language was so diverse,” she recalls. Her language proficiency was not strong compared to other kids. They strictly spoke isiZulu at home and English at school. The best she could do was to bury her head in her books.
Fascinated with language and how it influenced culture, Siza realized that language was an essential part of her life.
Nkosi worked at Collective Geniuses, a homeschooling centre. She also taught at St. John the Baptist Catholic School, where she developed her IsiZulu curriculum.
“Teaching comes naturally, I wish I had listened to my Mom when she encouraged me to pursue the profession after matric,” she giggles.
In 2019 Siza transitioned from Johannesburg to Kimberley after receiving a lecturing post at the Sol Plaatje University, where she teaches creative writing and language.
Nkosi’s published her first poem in 2003. In 2019, Oxford University distributed her short stories. Siza also writes children’s stories in isiZulu and is currently working on her first poetry collection called ‘Malome’s Bones’.
Nkosi is the founder of House of Siza, a non-profit organisation established in 2012. The organisation is a haven for artists. It hosts activities including book club reading and poetry. Being a mother is one of her most outstanding achievements, “raising someone, learning and growing with them is beyond words. Presenting the inaugural Credo Mutwa at the Sol Plaatje University last year is another proud moment,” added Siza.
Her aspirations for this year are to publish her book, Malome’s Bones and record an audio poetry book. Nkosi co-hosts a show Saturdays on Radio Teemaneng Studio (RTS) radio, where they review books. The poet’s advice to anyone who wants to start writing in any space is to, “Read, read and read some more!”
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