Isabella Motadinyane Biography
Isabella Motadinyane was born in 1963 in Mofolo Central, Soweto. She completed classes up to Grade Five in her formal schooling. She studied piano at the so-called ‘Five Roses Bowl’ and attended dance and acting classes in Jozi. As a result of creative writing forums she wrote the poem ‘One Leg In’, which contains the phrase “die is mos botsotsos” (these are stretch denim pants). The phrase afterwards gave rise to the name of the Botsotso Jesters, the poetry performance group of which she was a founding member in 1994, and whose publishing arm, Botsotso Publishing, brought out two collections, We Jive Like This (1996) and Dirty Washing (1999). Poems by Isabella in these books were brought together in her collected works, Bella (2007).
Kana ka sega phefo
ka ralla dinaga
ka rakana le monna
are Yorkshire
England kwa moroba
tiro emo batla mabogo
ka e bona
ka e tshwantshanya
le small heaven
nare yena ke Yorkshire
tlogela botsoropa wena
bothakga gabo rekwe
banna ba kwa Tsetse Tsitsi
mesong ba sadisa dikobo
kwa Jo'burg
ba bolawa ke more kom
...
Paaha
tlong beso
paaha
tlong beso
ke nako ya ho hlaolo
ke nako ya kotulo
tlong re buisaneng
tlong ka kutlwano
paaha
tlong beso
paaha
tlong beso
selemo se thwasitse
babele a hodile
na le utlwile na
taba ketse monate
paaha
tlong beso
paaha
tlong beso
...
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