Tjawangwa Dema

Tjawangwa Dema
Born1981 (age 44–45)
Gaborone, Botswana
Alma materLancaster University
OccupationPoet

Tjawangwa "TJ" Dema (born 1981) is a Motswana poet, known for her spoken word and performance poetry.

Life and career

Dema was born in 1981 in Gaborone, Botswana.[1] She has a master's of arts degree from Lancaster University.[2]

Dema's chapbook, Mandible, was published as part of the 2014 boxed set Seven New Generation African Poets (edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani, published by Slapering Hol Press).[2][3] John Taylor, reviewing the set for The Antioch Review, said Dema's work "is especially touching in moments when intimate feelings are expressed metaphorically".[4] She has also had work published in the Cordite Poetry Review, Elsewhere Lit, the New Orleans Review and in the anthology Read Women (Locked Horn Press, 2014).[2]

As a performance poet she has performed at the Gaborone International Music and Culture Week,[5] and internationally in over 20 countries including Germany, Singapore, Portugal,[6] Sweden,[7] and Scotland.[8][9] She represented Botswana at the Poetry Parnassus in London in 2012.[10]

In 2018 Dema received the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets for her collection The Careless Seamstress.[2] The prize came with US$1,000 and publication of her collection as part of the African Poetry Book Series by the University of Nebraska Press.[2] The collection was a Brittle Paper Notable Book of 2019.[11]

In 2022 Dema published a collection of ecopoetry, an/another pastoral (No Bindings Press), illustrated by Tebogo Cranwell and with a foreword from Chris Abani. The collection was launched on Earth Day.[12] It was a Brittle Paper Notable Book of 2022, described as "[combining] history and race with the climate crisis to create riveting poetry that brings an African ecopoetics perspective to our changing world".[13]

Dema has received fellowships and residencies from the University of Iowa's International Writing Program, the Vermont Studio Center, the Danish Arts Foundation (Danish International Visiting Residence programme, 2014),[14] and the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities at Northwestern University (2016 Artist-in-Residence).[2]

References

  1. ^ "Delhi International Literary Festival". Atlas Aark Arts. 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Obi-Young, Otosirieze (30 January 2018). "The 2018 Sillerman First Book Prize Awarded to Botswana's Tjawangwa Dema, for Her "The Careless Seamstress"". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  3. ^ Austin, Tiffany (Spring 2016). "Seven New Generation African Poets". Valley Voices: A Literary Review. 16 (1): 149–153. ISSN 1553-7668.
  4. ^ Taylor, John (Spring 2015). "Poetry Today: Discovering New African Poets". The Antioch Review. 73 (2): 372–380. doi:10.7723/antiochreview.73.2.0372. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  5. ^ Odubeng, Maureen (25 July 2014). "TJ Dema to perform at GIMC week". Mmegi. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  6. ^ Tlale, Mpho (5 July 2013). "TJ Dema returns from poetry tour". Mmegi. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Botswana-Sweden poetry show this weekend". Botswana Gazette. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Dema off to Scotland fest". Mmegi. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  9. ^ "The Art of Alteration: A Dialogue With Tjawangwa Dema". Africa in Dialogue. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  10. ^ Ganetsang, Spike (20 September 2016). "Editor's Choice — Tjawangwa Dema". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  11. ^ "The Notable African Books of 2019". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  12. ^ Anderson, Sarski (29 March 2022). "Tjawangwa Dema launches ecopoetry collection on Earth Day". Bristol24/7. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  13. ^ Edoro-Glines, Ainehi (18 December 2022). "Brittle Paper's Notable African Books of 2022". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  14. ^ Tlale, Mpho (2 April 2014). "TJ to embark on Danish residence". Mmegi. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
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