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POETRY WORKSHOPS
31 July & 2 August 2026
SENSES X GO SAUNA
A SAUNA THERAPY AND POETRY EXPERIENCE
This specially curated session was suitable for beginners and regular sauna visitors as well as new or seasoned writers. We started at the beach with a guided sense poetry writing exercise, which lead us into the sauna with a cold dip in between the sauna session. Poetry and music facilitated a relaxing state of being.
Together, we used poetry as a tool to soften tension stored within, opening ourselves to rest and renewal. This is a practise of care, an invitation to listen deeply to yourself and a chance to express what the senses hold.
We explored what we see, hear, smell, feel and say, using guided writing prompts before stepping into a restorative sauna journey by the sea.
Go Sauna is a wellness service that offers mobile wood-fired saunas and cold plunge sessions, particularly in Cape Town. It aims to provide a space for recovery, stress relief, and improved heart health through hot-cold therapy.
30 July 2026
GOOD HOPE SEMINARY SCHOOL
HOPE LIBRARY
POETRY WORKSHOP FOR THE GRADE AT THE HOPE LIBRARY BY THE OTTO FOUNDATION
This poetry workshop aimed to help the young people find their voices. Students were aged 16 and 17.
The English educators had the challenge of helping the students break down and dissect poetry. They needed to understand poetry concepts like metaphors and similes. We achieved this by working backwards and building up our own metaphors using sense poetry.
The Otto Foundation creates and manages libraries and reading programmes at a cluster of schools in District Six, Cape Town. Our mission is to foster a love of reading and deepen the reading culture in our school communities.
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September 2024, May 2025 & July 2026
SPINGFIELD COVENT SCHOOL
SENIOR SCHOOL
Every year, the Grade 8's have a slam poetry exercise to do and the workshop helps them understand poetry and the performance element that slam poetry boasts. The session had 100 students aged 13 - 14 years, the workshop is spread across two sessions.
We cover the following
1. What is slam poetry?
2. How do you come up with a poem? / what is your thought process
3. How do you start writing one?
4. How do you get into slam poetry?
Using the poetry workshop, “Poetry as a sensory experience” we explored how one can write a slam poem and how to engage the body in the performance. We hosted our own slam poetry competition and chose poets to perform and judges to critique based on the lesson. The winning poets each got a copy of my poetry collection.
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Springfield Convent School is a leading Independent Catholic Girls’ School based in Cape Town which welcomes girls of all faiths and backgrounds to classes from Nursery to Grade 12 .
29 March 2026
OPEN BOOK YOUTH FESTIVAL -ikamva youth
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This session was hosted by Open Book Youth Festival for IKamva Youth, an organization dedicated to developing and tutoring young individuals through after-school programs.
The "Poetry As A Sensory Experience" workshop took place on March 21, coinciding with World Poetry Day, and was attended by 30 teenagers. Participants were asked to bring an item from home that represented their identity. These objects played a crucial role in shaping their identities and served as catalysts for the poems they created. Throughout the session, we encouraged them to engage their senses and express themselves through poetry. We initiated the workshop with some poetry games to activate their senses and capture their attention before transitioning to an open mic segment where they could share their talents.
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IKamva Youth offers youth-driven, low-cost, and high-impact programming that achieves meaningful results in contexts where such successes are rarely seen.
11 April 2026
CAPE CULTURAL COLLECTIVE - WRITERS CLUB
The session was hosted at Mowbray Library, where over 20 participants aged from 12 to 70 attended on 11 April 2026. The workshop was a multi-sensory experience of poetry. By engaging with their five senses, poetry was activated and extracted from within. Proving that poetry goes beyond the stage and into the way our bodies interact with the world around us.
Participants were asked to bring an item from home that represented them. These objects were used as prompts to write these poems. The session turned out to be deeply personal and also an out-of-body experience, as they were required to engage with each sense without distraction.
Founded in 2007, the Cape Cultural Collective (CCC) began as a gathering of poets and musicians in Cape Town, aiming to create a progressive cultural space that fosters inclusion, unity, and social activism. Its mission emphasizes promoting equality, justice, and shared citizenship, addressing social divides through arts-based initiatives.
24 October 2025
PANGEA FESTIVAL 2025
Pangea Festival 2025, titled "Whispers of the Deep," at the Karoo 1 Hotel Village near Touws River
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Pangea is an immersive festival that combines electronic music, spiritual wellness, art, and co-creation across eight stages. The theme invites attendees to journey beyond the surface of the ordinary, encouraging them to sink into the present moment and allow the tides of the experience to shape them.
One of the highlights was the multisensory poetry experience titled “Senses.” This session provided festival-goers with a break from the high energy typical of electronic music festivals. Poetry encourages introspection and invites participants to engage quietly with their bodies in ways that many may not usually explore. We used music, incense, and art to activate these senses.
Attendees who entered the space with no expectations left with a deeper understanding of themselves, gaining more than just a weekend of music and fun. "Senses" offered an alternative experience that is often lacking in festival environments.
4-day workshop 15 - 18 September 2025
Inclusive and Affirming Ministries
JOURNEY OF HOPE: THE HADITHI ​
The Poetry as a Sensory Experience workshop spanned four days with Inclusive and Affirming Ministries, inviting participants to deeply engage their senses as a foundation for crafting original writing pieces. Throughout the workshop, attendees were encouraged to connect with and respond to their sensory perceptions through the act of writing. The outcomes revealed profound insights into how our senses influence and shape the long-term expression of behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. ​
Inclusive and Affirming Ministries a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating religious-based homo/trans/bi/intersexphobia across Africa ​
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17 Feb 2024
JCFI Mosadi Sadi
Arts Education & Training Outreach Program
Proudly supported by Business and Arts South Africa through the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, as part of the presidential stimulus package
The poetry workshop, “Poetry as a sensory experience”, gave a comprehensive understanding of literature as a viable and fulfilling career option. We spoke about practical insights, key writing techniques and how our sensory experience contributes to becoming a skilled literary artist.
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Finally, we engaged in a dynamic question and answer session, providing personalized guidance and addressing individual queries. The workshop featured 30 participants aged 14 - 40 years old at Eluxolweni Primary School, Khayelitsha, Cape Town.​​​​
JCFI Mosadi Sadi Arts Education & Training Outreach Program is an initiative aimed at empowering women artists across South Africa. This program spans all nine provinces and focuses on providing arts education and training to female instrumentalists. The program is designed to foster creativity and skill development among women in the arts, offering various workshops, training sessions, and performance opportunities.
Premiered at the 27th POETRY AFRICA 2023
‘Broken telephone: Grief on the line
THE RIGHT TO SPEAK MULTIMEDIA POETRY PROJECT FUNDED BY THE UKZN CENTRE FOR CREATIVE ARTS
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This multimedia project explores grief's socio-psychological impacts on a child. This concept stems from the myth that children cannot be explicitly told that someone has died, specifically in African families. It’s whispered to them in their sleep for their subconscious to process.
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The poetry workshop, “Poetry as a sensory experience”, sought to debunk myths and introduce a new way to express this social justice issue. The workshop gave 15 children aged 9 - 15 years poetic writing tools and visual expression exercises. It was hosted at Living Hope in the township of Masiphumelele in Cape Town.
Living Hope is a Faith-based Non-Profit Organisation that undertakes community development through educational, social, income generation, and health related programmes; and plays a vital role in the prevention, care and treatment of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses.
