Faces of 2013: The wise one

Poetry may take centre stage this year, thanks to an 11-year-old cutie from Mahikeng, writes Lesley Mofokeng.

She is a pint-sized cutie pie who waxed her way lyrically into the hearts of the nation with her amazing talent and poetry. Now 11-year-old Botlhale Boikanyo, last year’s winner of the SA’s Got Talent show on e.tv, is on the threshold of a promising career.

Not only did her victory earn her close to a million rand in cash, but there are bigger plans now to take on the new year and capitalise on her fame.

There are plans in the works to record and release a DVD of her poetry, along with a book and audio CD that could be a welcome turning point in the revival of this often overlooked art form. Poetry’s future may be resting on the small shoulders of a seventh grader from Mahikeng in North West.

Boikanyo, whose first name means “the wise one”, has been in demand for corporate gigs ever since her win on the reality show. She took part in the World Toilet

Summit, the opening event of 16 Days of Activism Against Woman and Child Abuse in her province and at the Gauteng Legislature. She also featured

at the North West Parks and Tourism Awards in Potchefstroom and was invited as a guest speaker at a graduation event of the University of the Free State.

And, this year, the currency of the Sol Plaatje Primary School pupil and prefect is set to rise, with more work and plans to take her talent a notch up.

Apart from being a poet, Boikanyo is also a champion dancer in Latin, hip-hop and ballroom at Mmabana Arts and Culture Club in Mahikeng. “But poetry is my strong point and I have a bigger experience there.”

She believes 2013 is the year of growth in her artistry. “This year will be good. I just want to be successful and get gigs.”

Boikanyo plans to roll out a mobile library project in her home town to share her love of books and reading with her peers. Her mother, Mumsy, also mentions a reality TV show as a possibility they are exploring.

Interestingly, the family is not threatened by what has become known as the child star curse, when juvenile celebrities often go off the rails in adulthood.