Zaarah Antulay with her book, Monologues with Myself.
A Pinelands teenager has been nominated for the “best author” award in the poetry category of the Global AfriCAN Authors Awards, to be held in Gauteng in July.
Zaarah Antulay, 18, learnt in December that she had scooped a nomination for Monologues with Myself, her first book, published in August.
“Monologues with Myself is a poetry anthology, with a variety of genres in it. I speak a lot about my childhood, and the struggles I faced growing up and also about how much I have grown into my own person, and being proud of my heritage and identity,” said the Pinelands High matric pupil.
“I just started writing down my feelings, as a creative and constructive outlet. Then, one day, I decided to turn all of the poetry into a book.”
Zaarah said her writing had blossomed in the past few years. “Something just clicked, and then, boom, my writing was more coherent and meaningful.”
Zaarah’s poetry also featured in English Alive 2022, an anthology of work by South African high school poets, which was launched at the end of January (“SA’s young poets show us ‘who we are’,” Southern Suburbs Tatler, February 2)
Her Further Studies English teacher, Laura de Villiers, said it had been exciting and inspiring to see Zaarah’s flair for writing flourish.
“She writes insightfully and astutely about the personal, the social and the political. Her work captures the nuances and layers of life and living, which she is able to share in meaningful ways.”
Zaarah also enjoys sketching and performing. In August, she acted in the Pinelands High School production, The Boy Who Fell from the Roof (“Pinelands High pupils return to the stage,” Southern Suburbs Tatler, July 28)
To buy a copy of Monologues with Myself, email Zaarah at zantulaybusiness@gmail.com