Linathi Makanda is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is fundamentally about facilitating a holistic return to self. Makanda believes in the intersection of holistic healing and language, having published two poetry collections, When No One Is Watching and I Say These Things To Myself, through the Australian publishing house Odyssey Books. Linathi, as an artist, uses fragility with self and others as a sort of necessary device to navigate the world and its systems, as described by her community as one such person whose work has sensitivity at its core.
Makanda's written work has appeared in publications such as Mental Realness Magazine, Forgotten Lands, Poetry Potion, Lolwe, and 20.35 Africa, where she was featured in their New Poet Series. Seasons, a visual that combines elements of poetry and videography, was featured in New Plains Review, an online publication of the University of Central Oklahoma's College of Liberal Arts. Furthermore, this body of work was chosen to screen in the Short Film category at the Lift Off Online Film Festival in the United Kingdom. Nataal Media, The Luupe, Hear My Voice, Drum Magazine, Salamander Ink Mag, and Busboys and Poets are among the platforms she has appeared on and written for. In 2022, Makanda was a part of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal's Poetry Africa Festival.
Makanda continues to use her work as a contribution to what she believes is an alternate form of generational wealth, one rooted in the idea that our efforts now are creating an eco-system of heritage that is rich with awareness and emotional health.
