South African poetry since 2014

Megan Ross & Francine Simon at Zeitz MOCAA

May 7, 2018

About uHlanga

uHlanga is a small South African poetry press run by Nick Mulgrew.

Our books are available to order from all retail bookstores in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Our distributors are Protea Distribution in Cape Town and can be reached at +2721 001 7618.

Outside of South Africa, many of our books are available print-on-demand through the African Books Collective.

On social media

“It is our pleasure to introduce Owele, the shimmering new book of poems by the South African poet, Sihle Ntuli. Over the summer, we— Abhijit and O-Jeremiah, fourth and third year Phd students of the CWP sat down virtually with Ntuli to discuss Owele, his motivation, approaches, and poetics. For those that don’t know already, Ntuli was the winner of the most recent edition of the University of Georgia CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM-sponsored Diann Blakely National Poetry Competition, judged by Vivek Narayanan. What struck us immediately about Ntuli’s new book is the poignant sense of place (and un-place) both spiritual and geographical.” What a wonderful interview with Owele poet, @sihlexntuli Read it now at our 🔗 in bio. #uHlanga #poetry #poemspoemspoems #SihleNtuli #poet #OwelePoems

“With new dawn’s energy I must strengthen my sinews For I have seen creatures stampede And build icebergs in Liberty’s path But volcanic tides will charge Making love to our own ploughs Which must furrow for life” -from “Soweto wishes” by Lindiwe Mabuza In the late 1970s, Lindiwe Mabuza, a.k.a. Sono Molefe, sent out a call for poems written by women in anc camps and offices throughout Africa and the world. The book that resulted, published and distributed in Europe in the early 1980s, was banned by the apartheid regime. Half-forgotten, it had never appeared in a South African edition. With a preface by Uhuru Phalafala and a new introduction by Makhosazana Xaba, and featuring a lost artwork by Dumile Feni, 📗 buy ‘MALIBONGWE: Poems from the Struggle by ANC Women’ now via our link in bio. #uHlanga #poetry #poemspoemspoems #SonoMolefe #poet #MalibongwePoems #LindiweMabuza

From crafting the cover for @megan_ross_’s ‘Milk Fever’ to, most recently, @mantipoetry’s ‘Rootbound’, @loveleorajoy is no stranger to uHlanga. We had the quickest of catch-ups with the talented cover artist, who gave us a little peek into her process, her studio, and wondrous life in Taipei ✄ 📚Swipe now! 📷: Leora Joy Jones at home (2025) | (photo by Sara Cusack) #uHlanga #BookCoverDesign #LeoraJoyJones #artist #RootboundPoems #MilkFeverPoems