A young poet from Mitchells Plain is not only on the verge of releasing her second book, but she has also been nominated for a Cape Flats Literacy award.
Fourteen-year-old Leila Alexander’s latest book, Invisible Teen, is a compilation of poems as she takes readers on a journey that adults and parents need to listen to before they judge teens.
Leila says: “Sometimes people need to feel like they are not alone. Knowing my book might help someone is an accomplishment.”
About what inspires her, Leila says: “Sometimes I see something, hear something, and then start forming in my head. I start writing a rough draft of what I want to say, then when I am done, I clean it up and read it to my family to see what they think.
“I also get my inspiration from my family, friends and things I observe. Writing is my safe haven.”
The book launch has been scheduled for 27 April.
The teen’s first book, Young Mind... Unspoken Thoughts, was compiled as she struggled to deal with her ouma’s death.
Last year she received a Pen Soldiers in Africa award for the book at the sixth African Annual Global Authors Honoree Awards that was held in Johannesburg.
The book is now up for another award as she was nominated for the Best Anthology Written by a Single Teen by the Cape Flats Literacy Awards.
“I am also looking forward to the awards, being nominated is already a win in my books,” Leila says.