Tag Archives: The Coinage Book One : Contributors

Robyn-Jade Hosking was born in 1991 in Fish Hoek, a sleepy seaside suburb nestled in the Cape Peninsula, but spent most of her childhood and teenage years surrounded by the lush forests of Knysna after relocating to the Garden Route. She has since moved back to Cape Town and currently manages an art gallery in Muizenberg. She is studying Theory of Literature and Art History through Unisa.

Robyn-Jade has been writing poetry and songs since before she can remember, and has maintained a lifelong love affair with the English language. She has recently only started submitting her work to poetry competitions and publications. Her poetry explores a variety of themes including  human relationships, questions of identity and the mind’s capacity for escapism. Most of her more recent works focus on the relationship between self and surroundings. There is no revelation is a meditation on the relationship between sexuality and spirituality, reflecting that instances of enlightenment are not always explosive revelations, but can blossom gradually in the subtle moments of intimacy between lovers.

Poets that have inspired Robyn-Jade and influenced her work include T. S. Eliot, E. E. Cummings, Sylvia Plath and Peter Clarke. She is also greatly influenced by visual art and music and believes that all artistic disciplines go hand in hand. She is a compulsive lyricist and has collaborated with her sister singer-songwriter Maya-Rose Torrão on several songs, with more to come. She writes prose as well as poetry, and tries to find time to work on short stories between balancing work and studies. She also makes and sells collage earrings, paints and writes online book reviews to supplement her income.

Robyn-Jade’s poem “There is No Revelation” appears in The #Coinage Book One

Khalida is a stay-at-home mom who has little inclination for cooking, sewing or baking.  She is a wordsmith and loves the musicality and rhythm of the written word.  She is also an avid reader and enjoys sharing good reads.  Khalida currently hosts a community book club in the South of Johannesburg.

Her poem was inspired by a need to give voice to the words which have remained silent for too long.

Khalida is interested in narratives which defy social norms.  She is attracted to writers who break boundaries around issues which address gender inequality, sex and cultural stereotypes.

She has an obsession with collecting beautiful notebooks which remain ink unstained and instead accumulates bits of paper stringing thoughts into sentences.

When not reading, writing or gardening, Khalida enjoys spending time with her husband, two kids and much adored Scottish terrier.

You can connect with her on Twitter @rosybic

Khalida’s poem “Words Swallowed” appears in The #Coinage Book One

Indigene is no stranger to the love of word, having fallen in love with poetry from her formative years when she found refuge and therapy in writing and the expression it afforded her. Her writing spans across the universal themes of love, existential angst, divine bliss, esoteric consciousness, social challenges, sexuality, and feminism.

In 2005, Indigene began performing her poetry in Tshwane.  She launched and hosted regular poetry and Hip Hop sessions at “Cherry Jam” in Hatfield which was a customary meeting place for like-minded music lovers and spoken word enthusiasts.

Indigene moved to back Johannesburg and joined the poetry collective “Likwid Tongue” in 2006 which hosted weekly poetry shows and writing workshops at various venues in Johannesburg, while collecting clothing for charity. She performed at the international poetry festival “Urban Voices” in 2007 alongside Sarah Jones and Steve Coleman where she distributed her EP “Nymphomaniac” featuring 3 poems accompanied by music that sought to create awareness around female sexuality.

In 2008 Indigene produced, directed, performed at and hosted a fundraising event called “Black Widow” for POWA at the Baseline in Newtown that weaved together theatre/drama, comedy, poetry, jazz, vocalists, beat boxers, DJ’s and pure funk!

In 2010 Indigene’s poetry was published in an international yoga and meditation journal “Constant Remembrance” published by Sahaj Marg and distributed worldwide.

Her work is also featured on www.cntrlaltsex.co.za, “a voluntary sex positive organisation whose mission is to normalise alternative sexuality and provide informed spaces for people to talk positively and openly about sex”.

Her poetry featured alongside Tumi Molekane and Flo in an insert produced for MTV Base commemorating Youth Day.

Her work “Visions Implode” is featured at the closing of a documentary produced by Khalo Matabane commemorating Women’s Day.

She is currently editing her book “Chasing Infinity” to be published in 2016.

She has performed her poetry on various mass media platforms such as Y-fm, Kaya fm, the Citizen, Soweto TV, MTV Base and 3 Talk with Noeleen on SABC 3.

She is now the Director of Trillionaire Ess, a social entrepreneurship company that develops socially conscious ventures in the areas of ICT, Art & Culture, Communications, Strategy, Research and Multimedia Content Development.

Her poem,  “I do what”, appears in The #Coinage Book One. Of it, she says “it was written about someone have strong feelings for despite many attempts not to; an unrequited love. What it depicts is two people propelled into a post-wedding scenario when they have essentially only sparingly interacted in an intimate setting prior to this encounter. So where one would imagine, because the two are married, they would know each other well,  the poem explores a lot of seemingly small gestures: eye contact, breathing, and gentle touching, more indicative of the awkward embraces of strangers.  The poem speaks of love as a choiceless surrender which is an important aspect of what it communicates. So often we dictate to love, or try to, by demarcating where and how it ought to find expression, but I find that love happens to you, it is not a conscious decision that one elects.

Melissa has faced many adversities in life. Her ambition to write started at a young age but the courage to publish her writing took several years. She enjoys writing both short stories and poems but has yet to embark upon a book.

Although, her peers encouraged and enjoyed reading her work she fought hard at school for her literary skills to be noticed but the label of being both dyslexic and ADHD were an on-going hurdle which, continued into her university years; despite achieving a Masters in History and an Honours in Psychology.

She has written papers for seminars and three theses at postgraduate level. She has been involved in educational writing since 2008. She has been a co-author to an educational book and written blogs for Pearson Education.  She also has several educational blogs which is she is currently trying to place under one site.

Her own difficulties at school developed an amazing gift of being able to relate to any child and to identify their individual strengths and potential. She currently works with children struggling in the school system and has had tremendous success. She has not published a creative work until now: It is with the inspiration of the children she works with that she decided to publish her first creative literary work.

Her poem, The Torn Soul, is featured in The #Coinage Book One; and this has inspired her to travel further down the road of creative literary works and she will be endeavouring to accomplish more published works in the near future. She intends to write works of an emotional nature to engage more deeply with her readers. Her works will also include inspirational and motivational pieces. She will continue with her educational writing as it is her dream to write a book to assist learners struggling in the school system.

She sees herself as a revolutionist and would like to be the change to encourage more people to achieve their true potential.

Find Melissa on: Eduhelp website,  Facebook and her new upcoming page.