Donald Neosapien Mokgale is a multi-slam winning poet who began writing poetry from 2003. Donald Mokgale, being a lateral thinker who had strong views about pseudonyms, always told himself that he would not formulate one for the sake of it until he was reborn spiritually and after he was reborn, he formulated the name Neosapien. The prefix NEO means new and SAPIEN is taken from Darwin’s theory of evolution where he states that humans are Homosapiens. Donald believed that by being reborn he was renewed and ergo a new human which is the direct translation of the name. The name also means that he is a new breed in his way of thinking and he seeks to alter the perceptions of people through his poetry.

He has been performing in numerous poetry slams and sessions all over Gauteng where he made an ever-fixed mark that differentiates him from other poets to those who have witnessed him perform. He took a break from poetry for two years after he lost his poetry book with all his work although during this break in 2007, he had the opportunity to have his work (one of his pieces) published in an anthology called Portraits of Propaganda which is on sale in various book stores in Johannesburg. His perpetual love for poetry brought him back to the performance scene in 2009 where he competed in The Urban Soul Poetry Slam held at Maponya Mall and went on to take second place on the 29th of May with only one prepared piece and two freestyle pieces.

He began getting invitations to perform at numerous other sessions like Freshly Sliced Poetry Sessions, House of Hunger Poetry Slam, The Showcase at AFDA and Voices Poetry Slam just to name a few. He rode the wave of recognition that followed after his performances at The Urban Soul Slam and accepted an invitation to compete at The House of Hunger Poetry Slam in Parkhurst and after competing numerous times he eventually won it on the 20th of March 2010.

He received an all expenses paid trip to go to Zimbabwe to compete at the House of Hunger Poetry Slam there but unfortunately, he was unable to go because of unforeseen circumstances. Sponsors who witnessed his victory at the House of Hunger Poetry Slam handpicked him as one of the poets they want to take with to the extension of The House of Hunger Poetry Slam in Botswana in the latter half of 2010 where he would be going with legendary poets like Eric Miyeni and Lesego Rampolokeng just to name a few.

He then received and accepted an invitation to compete at the Voices Poetry Slam held at Braamfontein on the 3rd of April 2010 where the winner would win an all expenses paid trip to Durban to compete there, which he subsequently won and along with this he also secured himself a spot to perform at the Jozi Book Fair in August 2010 at Museum Africa, Newtown, Joburg. His brand began to grow even further as he received an invitation to be profiled on www.consciousness.co.za where some of his work is displayed including interviews and video footage of some of his performances.

His style is pun-chy and thought provoking, it comprises of social commentary and his life experiences all embellished with riveting figures of speech and uncanny wit. He believes in using creativity in poetry instead of just inking lamentations about freedom and the state of society. He says that he does not like the state of poetry in South Africa at the moment because of how poets are boxed and viewed although he is happy that it is growing and getting recognition. He is very conceptual and theatrical in his performances which he believes is how poetry should be as opposed to stuttering book reciters found at Poetry Slams. He positions himself as a Professional who performs at corporate gigs and functions such as Birthdays, Gala Dinners, office parties and special occasions. His rates vary based on the length of his set and type of occasion. He is currently working on an anthology of his own due to be published sometime in 2011.

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