Koleka Putuma author page

Koleka Putuma biography

Koleka Putuma is a South African poet, playwright, and theatre director. She graduated with a BA in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town. Putuma’s debut poetry collection, Collective Amnesia, was published in 2017 by uHlanga Press. The collection has been included in university syllabuses in South Africa and has been translated into several languages, including Spanish and German.

Putuma’s work has been recognised with multiple awards. She received the 2018 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry for Collective Amnesia. The book also won the 2018 Sunday Times Literary Award for Poetry. In 2017, Putuma was named one of the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 creatives.

In addition to her poetry, Putuma has written and directed plays. Her play No Easter Sunday for Queers premiered in 2019. She is the founder of Manyano Media, a multidisciplinary creative company.

In 2021, Putuma published her second poetry collection, Hullo, Bu-Bye, Koko, Come In, with Manyano Media. Her work has been featured in various international anthologies and literary journals. Putuma’s Collective Amnesia was named one of the best books of 2017 by The Sunday Times (South Africa).