Isabella Motadinyane was born in 1963 in Mofolo Central, Soweto, and died on her fortieth birthday in 2003 in Orange Farm. She used English, Isicamtho and Sesotho to create a powerful legacy of performance, poetry, and song.

Her collected work - just over 30 poems - was published as Bella in 2007 by Botsotso Publishing, and is republished in this Deep South edition with some new translations from the Sesotho.