Naidene Lottering is a South African poet, spoken-word artist, educator, and performance artist whose creative practice is deeply rooted in the linguistic, cultural, and historical realities of the Cape Flats. Born in 1991 in Elsies River, Cape Town, and currently based in Kraaifontein, Western Cape, she explores themes of identity, social justice, memory, language, and belonging through poetry written in Kaaps, Afrikaans, and English.
Lottering completed a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in 2013, qualifying as a Further Education and Training (FET) Specialist in Afrikaans. In 2026, she is a final-year Master of Arts in Creative Writing student at Rhodes University in Makhanda.
As a spoken-word and performance poet, Lottering uses Kaaps to centre and amplify the lived experiences, histories, and voices of Cape Flats communities. Her work challenges linguistic hierarchies while celebrating the richness of local language and oral traditions. Through performance and publication, she explores how language functions as a vessel for memory, resistance, and cultural expression.
Lottering has performed at numerous literary festivals and public poetry events, including those hosted by the Red Wheelbarrow Collective, as well as the Poetry in McGregor Festival, Cape Cultural Collective Poetry and Jazz, the Open Book Festival, Tuin van Digters, and the Suidoosterfees. Her poetry has been published in In Woorde Gebaar, an anthology by the Mengelmoesdigters, as well as in various collaborative collections, including Ons Klyntji. Her poem “Vuil Wate met Kaas”, published in Klyntji (2024), was selected for inclusion in the Green Gallery exhibition at the Afrikaanse Taalmuseum en -monument (ATM) in Paarl.
In 2025, Lottering completed the Brussels to Karoo Residency at Paulet House in KwaNojoli, supported by the Jakes Gerwel Foundation as part of its commitment to nurturing emerging South African writers.
She is currently working on her debut poetry collection.