Achetez un café à Vuyolwethu Reoagile

My name is Vuyolwethu Reoagile, I was born and raised in South Africa and I grew up between Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. As children raised by a single mother who moved a lot for work, my siblings and I were often flung between worlds. Within the constant family motion, I found comfort in the stories my grandmother would tell us of growing up Emnyameni (Alexandria), the home of South Africa’s chicory production. I grew up to love stories, and when life at home was difficult I found solace and comfort in them. 

Writing and performing as a teenager changed the course of my life, motivating me to stay in school and learn outside of the curriculum. When I completed matric I wanted to study further, but my mother and grandmother couldn’t afford it. The closest I got to formally exploring my creative talents was a learnership in Art and Design, which was better than doing nothing and wasting away in New Brighton. In my second year out of school, I moved to Joburg and did another learnership with Artist Proof Studio. At the age of 20, I met my mentor, Andrew Miller, an award-winning writer who recognized my passion for writing and took me under his wing. 

For the past 13 years, I’ve been working hard to better my craft, essentially producing creative writing from within the cracks of daily life. I’ve always worked to support myself, and now I have my own family, but I’ve also been fortunate to have a career as a professional writer, mainly thanks to the mentorship I’ve received from established writers and good editors. 

Since 2008 my creative writing has appeared in different literary publications and anthologies including ITCH, Botsotso, POWA (anthology), Kalahari Review, The Culture Review and The Caine Prize Anthology, among others. I’ve established collaborative relationships with indie publishing houses such as Geko Publishing and have done a few events and projects with the Wits Writing Centre.