Mongane Wally Serote (born 8 May 1944) is a South African poet and writer. He was inaugurated as South Africa’s National Poet Laureate in 2018.
Mongane Wally Serote Age
He was born on the 8th of May 1944 in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, South Africa. As of 2023, he is 79 years old and celebrates his birthday on May 8th every year.
Career
Mongane Wally Serote received the Noma Award for African Publishing in 1993. The Chilean government honored him with the Pablo Neruda award in 2004.
He was the CEO of Freedom Park, a national heritage site in Pretoria that opened in 2007. He has served as the chair of the parliamentary select committee for arts and culture.
He has created a number of non-governmental organizations, including the iIKSSA Trust, of which he is the Chairperson, and the IARI, of which he is also the CEO.
He is a member of a few advisory boards in the country that deal with issues related to the arts, culture, indigenous knowledge, and the African Renaissance.
Following the death of Keorapetse Kgositsile, Serote was appointed South Africa’s National Poet Laureate in 2018.
Awards
- 1973 – Ingrid Jonker Poetry Prize for the best debut collection in English
- 1993 – Third World Express wins the Noma Award for publishing in Africa
- 2003 – The English Academy of Southern Africa Medal for contribution to the English language
- 2004 – Pablo Neruda Medal for Writing
- 2007 – The Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, awarded for “Excellent contribution to literature, with emphasis on poetry and for putting his artistic talents at the service of democracy in South Africa”
- 2008 – Third World Express selected for Africa Book Centre’s 100 Best Books of the Twentieth Century
Writings
Poetry
- Yakhal’inkomo (1972)
- Tsetlo (1974)
- No Baby Must Weep (1975)
- Behold Mama, Flowers (1978)
- The Night Keeps Winking (1982)
- A Tough Tale (1987)
- Third World Express (1992)
- Come and Hope With Me (1994)
- Freedom Lament and Song (1997)
- History is the Home Address (2004)
Novels
- To Every Birth Its Blood (1981)
- Gods of Our Time (1999)
- Scatter the Ashes and Go (2002)
Essays
- On the Horizon (1990)
Mongane Wally Serote Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $300,000 which he has earned as a poet and writer.
