Sobhna Poona

Sobhna Poona(1963 - )was born in Durban, South Africa to a French/ English mother and an Indian father. She started writing at the age of 11, and won many writing awards. Due to Apartheid discrimination and segregation, her family was separated by the Group Areas Act and the Immorality Act. As a result she grew up with her French granny. Sobhna was classified Coloured at birth. Many years later,in an effort to bring the family together, her mother reclassified and Sobhna was classified Indian. After South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, Sobhna was reclassified Black. She remains Tan, and lives and writes in retirement.

Sobhna excelled in the fields of drama and communication and currently works as a volunteer Relationship Coach. She is published in several poetry collections. Her poems won a prize in the BBC Arts in Africa Competition in 1989. She later published two complete anthologies, Words on a Blank Page and In Search of Rainbows, which was a finalist in the CNA Literary Debut Award in 1991. She is currently working on a collection of poetry and short stories.