Biography
Isabella Motadinyane was born in 1963 in Soweto, South Africa. She was the author of several books of poetry, including We Jive Like This and Dirty Washing. A book of her collected poems, Bella, was published in 2007. She attended school up to Grade Five. She wrote the poem ‘One Leg In’, which contained the phrase “die is mos botsotsos” (these are stretch denim pants).The phrase gave rise to the name of the Botsotso Jesters, the poetry performance group of which she was a founding member in 1994. The group went on to develop the notable publishing house Botsotso Publishing. Motadinyane died on her fortieth birthday in 2003 in Orange Farm, South Africa.
Sources
"Isabella Motadinyane." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 27 April 2022. Accessed 30 June 2022. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Motadinyane>.
Horwitz, Allan Kolski. "Isabella Motadinyane." Poetry International. Accessed 30 June 2022. <https://www.poetryinternational.com/en/poets-poems/poets/poet/102-12314_Motadinyane>.
"Isabella Motadinyane." African Books Collective. Accessed 30 June 2022. <https://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/isabella-motadinyane>.
