Dr Pieter Odendaal is a poet, playwright, translator, and senior lecturer in creative writing at North-West University in Potchefstroom. His debut poetry collection, asof geen berge ooit hier gewoon het nie won the 2019 Ingrid Jonker prize. Droomwerk, an autobiographical play exploring the roots of mental illness and intergenerational family trauma, was nominated for the Hertzog Prize for Drama. Ontaard, his second poetry collection, won the NIHSS Award for Poetry and the Eugène Marais Prize in 2024. Odendaal is one of the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans for 2024. He is currently working on his first spoken word album.
