Poet Sangare Okapi plans to invest literary prize in community center

Poet Sangare Okapi received the Mia Couto Literary Prize for his work Utse in Mozambique.

The award included a prize of 400,000 meticais. Despite the recognition after 20 years of writing, Okapi stated that he does not view the prize as a final validation of his work but as a tool to support his community. The poet plans to use the funds to support the Bhuka Bhuka Cultural Center in the Mahotas neighborhood of Maputo.

He co-founded this project with writer Aurélio Furdela to bring cultural activities to the suburbs and provide a space for local youth to learn and perform. Okapi believes that literature should reach people outside of urban centers and elite circles. Okapi also discussed his artistic evolution, noting a shift from focusing on eroticism to exploring social issues and national identity. He is currently working on a new book titled A Casa Grande da Minha Avó.

He argued that the prize belongs to the community of Mozambique and intends to ensure that the rewards of his success reach the neighborhood where he lives and writes.