Tshegofatjo Makhafola is a poet from Zebediela, Limpopo, currently based in Johannesburg. A writer and spoken word artist, his work explores themes of Blackness and queerness, using vivid imagery to reflect on these experiences.
He holds a degree in Mining Engineering and is pursuing a master’s degree specialising in data science. His poetry has been published in Poetry Potion, New Contrast (issues 197 & 200), bathmagg, Brittle Paper, Botsotso, and Commonwealth Adda.
Makhafola is an accomplished poetry slam performer, having won the JHB Arts Alive Slam (2023), Poetry Africa & Windybrow Slam (2023), and Louder than a Vote Slam (2022). He was a Poetry Africa Slam semi-finalist (2022), a finalist in the Poetry Africa Slam (2024) and Word N Sound Slam (2024), and the runner-up in the US Embassy Slam (2024).
