Storyteller, poet, playwright and performer Dr Gcina Mhlophe has been named the recipient of Poetry Africa’s 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising more than four decades of work in South African oral tradition, literature and theatre.
The award was announced during the festival’s celebratory draw for the World Poetry Slam Championship quarter-finals, live-streamed on the Poetry Africa Facebook page.
It will be presented during the festival’s 30th edition, which runs from 5 to 10 October at the Durban Playhouse Theatre.
Mhlophe said she was humbled by the recognition. “I’m humbled and my heart is full of Gratitude,” said Mhlophe.
Ismail Mahomed, director of the Centre for Creative Arts, said Mhlophe had spent decades demonstrating that a story told with courage can carry the memory of an entire nation.
Honouring her, he said, was an opportunity to mark not only a body of work but a legacy that has shaped how South Africans understand the power of their own voices.
Born in KwaZulu-Natal in 1958, Mhlophe came to prominence in the 1980s through her work at Johannesburg’s Market Theatre.
Her autobiographical play Have You Seen Zandile? won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival, and she is widely credited with helping restore oral storytelling to recognition as a South African art form.
She has performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall and the Kennedy Center, and holds honorary doctorates from seven universities.
Mhlophe is the founder and executive director of the Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage Trust, through which she has campaigned for literacy and worked to nurture young readers and sustain African storytelling traditions.
The award announcement follows Poetry Africa’s naming of Koleka Putuma as its 2026 Featured Poet.
The festival, presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, is the longest-running poetry festival on the continent and this year hosts the 5th World Poetry Slam Championship, bringing 40 slam poets from 40 nations to Durban.
Tickets are available through Webtickets.