South African actress, poet and television personality Lebo Mashile has won the 2006 Pan-African book prize, the Noma Award, for her first published collection of poems.
Mashile’s poetry collection, In A Ribbon Of Rhythm, published in 2005, scooped the award late on Thursday in the Botswana capital, Gaborone.
It carries a cash prize of $10 000 and is given annually to African writers publishing on the continent.
In the same year, the 28-year-old self-produced and released a 19-track album, Lebo Mashile Live, combining a musical mix of poetry with hip-hop, house and R&B.
She debuted as a film actress, playing Odette, in the Academy Award-nominated Hotel Rwanda, directed by Terry George, about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
She has also performed in Jamaica, Cuba and Switzerland.
The actress, who presented the South African Broadcasting Corporation documentary TV series L’Attitude, is the ninth woman to win the award, now in its 26th year.
Mashile told Agence France-Presse said she often received rude remarks about her weight from critics who believe a celebrity ought to be slim and sexy.
”I am negotiating my status as a celebrity. Many people have told me how much they appreciate my performances, poems and the things I stand for. Obviously I have to deal with stupid people who say I am fat … it hurts,” she said. — Sapa-AFP