Busisiwe Mahlangu is a poet, performer, copywriter and dreamer from Mamelodi, Pretoria. She is the author of Surviving Loss, a poetry collection later adapted into theatre at the South African State Theatre Incubator program. She uses art as a medium for activism and holding space for transformative conversation.
As a trained performer and theatre-maker, she has shared her work in South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Sweden, Eswatini, Nigeria and The USA. She was a writing Fellow At the International Writing Program (Iowa University) and the Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Studies (University of Johannesburg). She holds a BA in Creative Writing from the University of South Africa.
Mahlangu was awarded the inaugural New Contrast SA National Poetry Prize (2020). In 2017 she won the Tshwane Speak Out Loud and was longlisted for The Sol Plaatje European Union Award. She hosts PoetsHubSA, a podcast powered by the National Poet Laureate Hub profiling poets. When she is not writing, she runs her business Busi Creates, making beaded jewellery.