Young author wants to inspire generation

“They say: be the change you want to see in life, and mine is to inspire all the young authors to release their full energy and potential,” says young author Benedict Bopape.

At the very young age of 15, Bopape from Ha-Masia outside Makhado has written a novel and a compilation of poetry and, by doing so, became one of the youngest authors in Vhembe.

He has the material ready, but he does not have a sponsor to help him release his books and a publisher to publish his works.

His journey started four years ago at the age of 11 when everyday challenges and circumstances at the time inspired him to start writing. He then came up with a short novel, Don't Bite the Hand that Feeds You.

“My first poem was called Life and after that I realised that I was spiritually gifted to an extent that I started writing worship poems like ‘Holy Spirit’ and ‘My God’.”

Benedict says his mother, Gladys Rikhotso, has been his pillar of strength. She encouraged him to write about his everyday experiences in life. “That was when I started writing a novel about the young generation of our time and how irresponsible they are in life without taking into consideration that time is irreversible. I named the book Time Wasted Never Regained. I further added a poem to try and influence the youth to do greater things in life,” he said.

Bopape says he has a compilation of 29 poems and a short novel ready to be published and he is still writing more. “I need help. I need a publisher who can work with me to produce my work and a sponsorship to run my project. In this project, I am trying to inspire all young people in this region to use their potential to the fullest. I want to prove that, no matter one’s background, as youths we have a point to prove and that we are second to no one,” he said.

Bopape can be contacted at 076 577 9962 or via email: [email protected]

Date:16 September 2016

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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