Nkateko Masinga is a literary magician. She’s a writer who sees beyond the ordinary and tackles emotional depth with unique dexterity. For this scholar, writing isn’t just another career path. It’s an avenue for expression and vulnerable creativity. Nkateko’s works often revolve around social justice and societal ills. As a poet, she deftly balances her medical intellect with her uncanny ability to craft evocative narratives. Her creativity and literary progress have earned her several literary recognitions, including the 2019 Brittle Paper Anniversary Award.
Born in December 1991, Nkateko is a native of the township of Mamelodi, South Africa. About twenty years later, she had the opportunity to do a medical preceptorship at the hospital where she was born. It was a notable first step in pursuit of her initial dream. To her dismay, the labour ward had been renovated in the many years following her infancy. The room had held a certain sentimental value for the young writer. It took her a while to grapple with the changes. Despite her disappointment, Nkateko is grateful to her supervisor and his team, who taught her Obstetrics at Mamelodi District Hospital.
Contrary to popular belief, this literary legend didn’t drastically transition from medicine to writing. Nkateko says, “The result may have been abrupt, but the process was slow and intentional.” In 2018, the year after she completed university, Nkateko travelled to the United States to take part in the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Writers. She made it crystal clear in her application that she was looking for a way to merge her two passions—health care and literature. The Fellowship understood her mission and that her journey to literary excellence had taken a turn for the better.
After an insightful experience at the fellowship, Nkateko studied Civic leadership at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. She had the opportunity to meet many other young creatives whose passions didn’t fit into a conventional box. Nkateko was also privileged to have mentors who accepted and honoured her desire to balance her passions without judgement. At Wagner College, the dynamic poet was able to experience the worlds of art and health simultaneously.
During her college days, she also performed at the Canvas Institute of Arts, Culture and Civic Engagement, a creative initiative by Bobby Digi. This opened her eyes to the world of performance poetry and unlocked an entirely new realm of opportunities. To gain more medical experience, Nkateko also interned at the Samaritan Dayton Village, a substance abuse and mental health treatment facility. It was led by Phyllis Cureton and gave her even more room to explore her medical ambitions.
At Wagner, Nkateko developed a close relationship with one of her mentors, Dr. Edna Aurelus. Edna is a university professor and a trained clinician. The young writer shared her mental health struggles with her, and Edna became her closest confidante. At age 16, Nkateko was diagnosed with clinical depression. Although it wasn’t hidden knowledge, only a few people knew how badly it affected her life and the work she chose to do. One of the fruits of her conversations with Dr Edna was a shared talk titled, “Destigmatizing Poetry through Poetry.” It was well received at the university, and in the same year, a friend she met at a poetry festival told her the unforgettable words, “Poetry is your superpower.”Nkateko says that these words were very reassuring. She knows now that she can open up and be met with love and not judgement.
A few years later, Nkateko was selected to participate in the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program. It was a cohort comprising healthcare practitioners who write, and journalists who focus on health-related stories. Under the guidance of one of her lecturers, Tracy Granzyk, the literary enthusiast had the honour of guest-editing a literary supplement composed of literary contributions from her cohort. The work was featured in a publication named “PLEASE SEE ME.” It strives to “help us see illness, wellness, health, or the healthcare environment differently, and inspires equality in healthcare and the world.” This deeply resonated with Nkateko as a writer with a background in medicine. It affirmed that a world where health and creativity thrive simultaneously could exist.
The lecturers in the Iowa program opened up the world of Medical Humanities to Nkateko’s cohort and gave them opportunities beyond the courses they were taught. At the invitation of Professor Ann Green, Nkateko had the chance to guest-lecture at Saint Joseph’s University, teaching a class titled “Hospital Stories: An Exploration of Confessional Poetry and Mental Health.” The poet also taught a class titled “Bouquets for Armageddon: An Exploration of Confessional Poetry through the Writing of Sylvia Plath” to the students of Professor Edward Fristom at Drexel University.
Nkateko Masinga takes her personal projects very seriously. Her desire to spread hope and to heal through her writing is evident. She has spent the past few years carefully working on a book-length series of poems based on health-related news stories. One of the poems in the series was published in World Literature Today. Her latest poetry chapbook, Daughter Wound, was published by Hazel Press in April 2024 and has overtaken the Hospital Stories series in the order of publication. Still, Nkateko is not in a rush to complete the project. She wants the process to move as naturally as possible. She wants to make moves in the same manner, slowly and with intention.
Nkateko has won several awards for her literary prowess and splendid creativity. She was nominated for a Pushcart prize in 2018, and her work has received support from several patrons, including Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and the Swiss Art Council. In 2019, she was shortlisted for an African honorarium, the AWDT African Writers Award. In January 2025, The Inside Education Foundation listed Nkateko among South Africa’s 100 shining Stars in the Arts and Culture category. These achievements are indeed a testament to Nkateko Masinga’s skill and courage.
The Award-Winning poet has always been selective about the parts of her life that she chooses to share. She believes poetry has played a role in making her seem more vulnerable than she truly is, in that its minimalism absolves her and allows for the white space and the gaps between the lines to fill in what she is unwilling (or unable) to say. Nkateko has gotten comfortable with using the “I” voice in her poems to partially tell on herself because the long-form confessional terrifies her. This is a relatable experience for young creatives as it can be difficult to express certain feelings as purely as they come. Writing can be an escape, a craft that is as freeing as it is entertaining.
In other news, Nkateko is currently training for her first marathon. She has run several half-marathons in the past year. The distinguished multidisciplinary believes that she has made tremendous progress in building endurance. However, the thought of running 42km in one go terrifies her. Regardless of her fears, Nkateko continues to trudge ahead in her various fields. Her story is one of bravery and versatility. She is living proof that trying again isn’t the end of the world, it’s the start of an entirely new adventure.
Nkateko explains that her vulnerability may be her superpower in the worlds she has inhabited until now. Still, it is resilience and courage that are guiding her while she trains for marathons. She believes that her writing benefits from her several interests. Her first TEDx Talk, “The Unapologetic Pursuit of Multiple Passion,” still guides her as she navigates life as a multipotentialite. The answer to the question, “What’s next?” remains the same as it has always been for her:“Everything.”
Oreoluwa Odusote
Writer, poet, and dreamer.
