Pieter Madibuseng Odendaal

Pieter Madibuseng Odendaal (19**-) is a poet, playwright, scriptwriter, translator and educator.

Biography

Bilingual Afrikaans and English poet, translator and educator whose work moves between page, stage and screen. Currently based in Cape Town and a National Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cape Town. His creative practice is grounded in multilingualism, spoken word performance, and engagement with social-ecological themes in a post-apartheid South African context.

Training

Obtained a PhD in Creative Practice (specialising in poetry) from the Queensland University of Technology in 2020. His doctoral thesis, Sounding relations to grond and water: responding to social-ecological change through spoken word poetry in South Africa, was awarded the QUT Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award. The PhD included the collaborative spoken word production What the Water Remembers, developed with Toni Stuart, Lwanda Sindaphi, Afeefa Omar and director Jason Jacobs.

Earlier, completed an M.Phil in Sustainable Development and Planning (specialising in poetry) at Stellenbosch University in 2017 (cum laude), with a thesis on the contribution of the InZync Poetry Sessions to sociocultural transformation in Stellenbosch. Also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development from Stellenbosch University (2014, cum laude) and a B.A. (Language and Culture) from Stellenbosch University (2010, cum laude), with majors in Afrikaans and Dutch, English Studies and Philosophy.

Held a Mellon Writer-in-Residence postdoctoral fellowship in Afrikaans poetry at Rhodes University (2021-2022) and is currently an NRF-funded postdoctoral fellow in the section Afrikaans and Dutch at the University of Cape Town (2026-).

Career

Began as a tutor in the Department of English Studies at Stellenbosch University (2011-2012) and went on to serve as project manager for the Stellenbosch Literary Project (SLiP) from 2011 to 2015, coordinating the literary website slipnet.co.za, the InZync Poetry Sessions, and the INKredibles writing workshops.

Co-founded InZync Poetry with Adrian van Wyk and served as its Executive Director from 2015 to 2018. Housed in the Department of English at Stellenbosch University from 2011 to 2018, the multilingual nonprofit poetry organisation held monthly poetry events, slams and workshops to stimulate local poetry in the greater Cape Town region, and partnered with Annel Pieterse on its sessions in Kayamandi.

Research Assistant for the South African Poetry Project (ZAPP) in 2018-2019, researching South African poetry as an indigenous knowledge system.

Appointed Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at North-West University (April 2022 - February 2025), where he served as Subject Group Head for Creative Writing in the School of Languages from January 2023 to February 2025. He taught undergraduate and postgraduate modules in poetry, prose, drama, introduction to writing, and research methodologies in both Afrikaans and English. He redesigned the multilingual curriculum across the Creative Writing modules, established a new multilingual Honours programme in Creative Writing, and founded the BUA! Poetry Sessions, an intercampus spoken word project.

Founded River Mouth Projects (Pty) Ltd in 2023 and serves as CEO and producer. The performing arts and literature production company produced the award-winning play Droomwerk, which had five runs at South African arts festivals and theatres.

Theatre productions

Ontaard: spoken word (2025), US Woordfees. With Odwa Bongo, Luke Verrezen and Eddie Newman.

Droomwerk (2023-2024), National Arts Festival, US Woordfees, Aardklop, Suidoosterfees and the Homecoming Centre. With Jill Levenberg, Ben Albertyn, Johann Nel, Gerben Kamper, Tyrish Mili and Johann Vermaak. Directors: Kanya Viljoen and Lwanda Sindaphi (associate director). The semi-autobiographical play addresses ancestral trauma in a post-apartheid context through indigenous healing practices.

What the Water Remembers (2019-2020), Open Book Festival and US Woordfees. With Toni Stuart, Lwanda Sindaphi, Afeefa Omar and Pieter Odendaal. Director: Jason Jacobs. The multilingual production explored Capetonians' relationship to water during the Cape Town drought (2015-2018) and was developed as part of Odendaal's PhD at the Queensland University of Technology.

Publications

Books

Odendaal, P. 2025. a corpse is also a garden. uHlanga Press: Cape Town. (English translation)

Odendaal, P. 2025. un cadáver también es un jardín. Lustra Editores: Lima. (Spanish translation)

Odendaal, P. 2023. Ontaard. Tafelberg: Cape Town.

Odendaal, P. 2023. Droomwerk. Protea: Cape Town.

Odendaal, P. 2018. asof geen berge ooit hier gewoon het nie. Tafelberg: Cape Town.

Edited and translated anthologies

Many Tongues (2013), multilingual poetry anthology, co-edited and co-translated with Annel Pieterse.

ConVerse: A Translation Anthology of the Best Young Voices in South African Poetry (2018), multilingual poetry anthology, co-edited and co-translated with Annel Pieterse and Mbongeni Nomkonwana.

Stellenbosch City (2015), short story anthology (translator). De Buren Books: Netherlands.

Die harsings huil (2017), co-translator of indigenous South African novel translation project, under the auspices of Prof. Antjie Krog.

Jerusalem by Gonçalo M. Tavares (2022), novel translated from Portuguese into Afrikaans. Minimal Press: Stellenbosch.

Kaleidoscope (2022), multilingual anthology of NWU students' work (editor and translator).

Blomme vir 'n gebroke glimlag deur Maakomele R. Manaka (2023), poetry translated from English into Afrikaans. Manaka Publications: Sophiatown.

BUA! Poetry (2024), multilingual anthology of NWU students' work (editor).

Sol Plaatje EU Poetry Anthology (2016-2022), Afrikaans poetry judge and translator.

Selected poems in journals

Odendaal, P. 2024. Three poems in New Contrast.

Odendaal, P. 2024. Four poems in a special issue of DWB (Dutch translations).

Odendaal, P. 2022. "the crowded hills of Makhanda". natureislouder.com.

Odendaal, P. 2022. Three poems in Passionate Magazine (Netherlands).

Odendaal, P. 2021. Two poems in Tirade (Netherlands), March 2021.

Odendaal, P. 2020. "bergvergaderig". litnet.co.za.

Odendaal, P. 2019. "bainsvlei, mangaung". Stilet, June 2019.

Odendaal, P. 2019. "die maan pols deur die wolkevel". I wish I'd said, Vol. 2. Naledi.

Odendaal, P. 2018. Two poems in New Contrast, Summer 2018.

Media work

Storyliner and scriptwriter for the Afrikaans telenovela Kelders van Geheime on ETV (2024-2026), produced by Kelder Films. Dialogue writer from July 2024 and storyliner from January 2026.

Awards and distinctions

National Research Foundation (NRF) Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Cape Town (2026)

Four Fleur du Cap nominations for Droomwerk, including Best New Script (2025)

Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans, Arts & Entertainment category (2024)

Eugène Marais Prize for Poetry, for Ontaard (2024)

National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) Award for Best Poetry Collection, for Ontaard (2024)

Hertzog Prize nomination for Drama, for Droomwerk (2024)

NIHSS nomination for Best Performance, for Droomwerk (2024)

North-West University Faculty of Humanities Research Creative Output Award (2024)

North-West University Faculty of Humanities Research Creative Output Award (2023)

North-West University Faculty of Humanities Best Community Engagement Award (2023)

ATKV Woordveertjie for Best New Drama Script, for Droomwerk (2021)

Queensland University of Technology Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award (2021)

Ingrid Jonker Prize for Poetry, for asof geen berge ooit hier gewoon het nie (2019)

ATKV Woordveertjie for Poetry, for asof geen berge ooit hier gewoon het nie (2019)

Queensland University of Technology Postgraduate Research Award (2017-2020)

Higher Degree Research Tuition Fee Scholarship, Queensland University of Technology (2017-2020)

NRF M.Phil Scholarship (2015-2016)

Sources

Private email correspondence with Pieter Madibuseng Odendaal, 13 June 2026.

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