Poetry Africa will mark its 30th anniversary this October with South African poet and playwright Koleka Putuma as its Featured Poet, bringing one of the country’s most distinctive contemporary voices to the centre of the festival’s milestone edition.

Putuma, a Cape Town-based poet, playwright and multidisciplinary artist, will be featured at the Durban Playhouse Theatre from October 5 to 10, where this year’s festival will be held under the theme “Every Word a Street, Every Voice a City.”

The selection reflects the breadth of Putuma’s work, which has moved between poetry, theatre and children’s literature while repeatedly returning to questions of religion, memory, identity and cultural inheritance.

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She has published three poetry collections, a children’s book and several plays. Her children’s book, Everybody Has a Fear, was published in the United Kingdom in 2025 and has since been translated into Korean, Spanish and German. Her 2024 young adult collection, We Have Everything We Need To Start Again, extended her work to a younger readership.

Putuma is also the founder of Manyano Media, a creative company established to produce and platform work by Black queer and non-binary artists.

Poetry Africa director Ismail Mahomed said Putuma’s work reflects the festival’s longstanding commitment to truth-telling and freedom of expression. Her appointment comes as the festival expands its international programme, with the 5th World Slam Poetry Championships forming one of this year’s major events.

The championship will bring 40 slam poets from 40 countries to Durban for three competitions: the Poetry Africa National Slam Jam, the World Poetry Slam Championship and the Chalkboard Slam for high school competitors.

Festival curator Siphindile Hlongwa said poetry offered a form of communication that could cross national and cultural boundaries.

The quarter-final matchups for the World Slam Poetry Championships will be determined during a live-streamed draw on September 8. The draw will be broadcast on Poetry Africa’s Facebook page.

Further details of the programme, including the full poet lineup and this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets go on sale through Webtickets on September 7.

Poetry Africa was founded in Durban three decades ago and has grown into one of the continent’s established platforms for poetry and spoken-word performance.