Multidisciplinary writer and a UCT Master’s in Creative Writing graduate, Zubayr Charles, recently published his debut poetry collection titled, the sad boy’s starter pack and other poems, with Jacana Media.
In this intimate and modern poetry collection, Zubayr Charles seeks healing amidst the shocks of personal and social rejection, navigating the paradoxes of identity and love. Vivid, brave and witty, the sad boy’s starter pack is a reclamation of the self and a homecoming for the lonely and estranged. Invoking a strong sense of place, Charles’ Cape Town shapes what it means to be queer and Coloured. Charles’ poems explore the tension between desire and detachment, longing and all-consuming love. This volume takes familiar, timeless themes by storm, forging them anew with luminous self-possession.
His new collection comes out months after his first novel, Haram (Kwela Books), hit the shelves, and while a couple of his plays are being staged at the 2026 Zabalaza Festival in the Baxter, as well as the upcoming Suidoosterfees.
Zubayr was a participant in our 2020 Kommadagga short fiction writing workshop. We are so excited that his talent is being shared more and more with the literary and theatrical world. Congratulations on your recent accomplishments, Zubayr!
