Mzwandile Matiwana was born in 1957 in Port Elizabeth. He started writing poetry at the age of 15, and has been published by all the literary journals in South Africa, such as Kotaz, New Coin, Timbila, Botsotso, Fidelities, donga and Carapace. His work has  also been published in Sweden and the USA. He is a member of the UWA Writers Group, based in New Brighton.

Robert Berold writes: "I first came across Mzwandile Matiwana six years ago, when Mxolisi Nyezwa showed me some of the work he was getting for Kotaz from a convict in St Albans prison in Port Elizabeth. The handwritten poems were deeply felt lyrics, mostly love poems, with haiku-like surprises in their shifts of tone. Matiwana was later released from prison, but he was soon back again. During the 20 months that he was awaiting trial, he continued writing poems, almost daily. In August 2003, after an appeal to readers of donga, bail was raised and Matiwana, now a devout Muslim, was released - at least until his trial. His first book, I lost a poem, is available from Deep South Publishing.