World Slam Poetry Competition champion Xabiso Vili on taking on international stages and fighting the belief that there is no career in poetry

03 October 2023 – 11:21

I first saw Xabiso Vili perform a poem about six years ago. As a student at the University of Pretoria (UP), the poetry scene in the capital city enthralled me. I was attending open-mic poetry evenings and learning to snap my fingers and pay deep attention while learning more about the craft of the spoken word. Vili’s performance during a Soul Ink poetry slam evening was one of the most moving I’d seen.   ..