She is one of five Mpumalanga poets included in the list of those scheduled to perform at the National Arts Festival.
Highly talented emerging poet Ntonga Ndlangamandla will be in Grahamstown starting from today.
She will perform at the National Art Festival.
Attracting thousands and thousands of visitors, the National Arts Festival is an annual festival of performing arts and one of the largest in the world by visitor numbers.
This year’s National Art Festival will start on 29 June 2017 and end on 9 July 2017.
Known on stage as ‘Intonga Yamantungwa’, the 21-year-old poet who evokes emotions was selected during the Taking Back the Future musical auditions at the Mbombela civic theatre in February 2017 to form part of the artists who would go to showcase their talents at the National Festival Art.
Born in Ermelo in 1996, Intonga Yamantungwa told 013NEWS how her career as a poet began in 2012.
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“I used to have anger and depression problems after I failed my Grade 11 in 2012 and I thought it was the end of my life and started getting angry and depressed.
“I was taken to a doctor and the doctor said that every time I have things that worries me I must write them down and I started writing them down as poems and began to recite them,” she said.
“Then when Voice of the Community radio station was launched in 2014 I approached the station manager and told her about my talent and I performed on radio and people called in and said I was good. I began becoming the radio’s artist and invited me to perform in events,” said Intonga.
She finished her matric in 2015.
On Friday (23 Jun), Gert Sibande district mayor Muzi Chirwa gave her a cheque of R10 000 to spend when she goes to perform at the National Art Festival, Ghahamstown.
“I realised that a person can turn their life around,” she said.
(edited by MLM)
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