Mhlophe will receive the award during the 30th edition of Poetry Africa in October.
Renowned storyteller, Dr Gcina Mhlophe. Picture: Supplied
Storyteller, poet, playwright and actress Dr Gcina Mhlophe will receive Poetry Africa’s 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award recognises Mhlophe’s more than four decades of work in South African oral tradition, literature and theatre.
It will be presented during the 30th edition of Poetry Africa, which runs from 5 to 10 October at the Durban Playhouse Theatre.
‘Grateful for the recognition’
Mhlophe said she was honoured by the recognition.
“It is a true honour to be recognised in this manner! I’m humbled, and my heart is full of Gratitude, Sibonga Ophezulu, Sibonge Abaphansi,” she said.
Born in KwaZulu-Natal in 1958, Mhlophe rose to fame in the 1980s through her work at Johannesburg’s Market Theatre.
Her work includes the autobiographical play Have You Seen Zandile?, which won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival.
Mhlophe has also helped promote oral storytelling in South Africa. She has performed and taught in English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa.
Her work spans theatre, poetry, children’s literature and film, and has been translated into several languages.
Her honours include a South African Film and Television Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, an Obie Award and the South African Children’s Laureate Award. She has also received honorary doctorates from universities in South Africa and abroad.
In 2016, Mhlophe was included in the BBC’s 100 Women list.
Her birthday, 24 October, has been observed as National Storytelling Day in South Africa since 2019.
Preserving South Africa’s cultural memory
Ismail Mahomed, director of the Centre for Creative Arts, said Mhlophe’s work had helped preserve South Africa’s cultural memory.
“Gcina Mhlophe has spent decades reminding us that a story, told with courage, can hold an entire nation’s memory,” he said.
“Honouring her this year is a chance to celebrate not just a body of work, but a legacy that has shaped how South Africans understand the power of their own voices.”
Poetry Africa is an annual international poetry festival curated and presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.
Its programme includes performances, panel discussions, campus and school visits, poetry exchanges, book launches, open-mic sessions and slam competitions.
