Mathapelo Mofokeng
Mofokeng wa Tshele wa lekotwane, motho wa ha mammulana motlatla.
Mmutla ha re oje, re oja ditsebe, Lebohodi ha letla ha Tshele le tla le bebenya ditedu.
Tshomodi tsohatsoha ha Ranteladi ho opa leoto ho opa lengole.
Lengwee ngwee ke lang phokeng.
Photograph by Lehlohonolo Mofokeng
ABOUT
I am a writer, an end-of-life companion, a grief counselor, and an abortion doula, offering care for people before, during, and after their abortions. In this season of my life, I sense my purpose is to bear witness and be a brief friend to those crossing thresholds or sitting in tight cracks. These experiences keep me connected to life’s big questions. The meaning of my full name is 'We have been given a mother of prayer', and I find that my contemplative nature continually longs for a more monastic existence—while moving into a monastery and spending my days in the meditative motion of sweeping holy grounds isn’t possible for me, writing has become a kind of monastery. It serves as my place of prayer and reflection.
My writing has appeared in Gagosian Quarterly, the Kenyon Review Journal, Adda Magazine, and Popshot Quarterly, amongst others, and has been anthologised in the Pen America Dau Prize’s Best Short Stories 2021 and the Future of Media. I am a recipient of the Pen/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, as well as fellowships from Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity, Macdowell, the Camargo Foundation, the Miles Morland Foundation, and Chevening. I also serve as a board member for the Life Righting Collective.
My writing takes inspiration from the Camissa mountain and sea. Blackness. Female friendship. Panic. My matrilineal line. Long walks. Death and dying. Jazz. The not yet born.
CONTACT
For literary enquiries please email Sam Stoloff at ss [at] goldinlit [dot] com
For all other enquiries please email me at refilwemathapelo [at] gmail [dot] com