When Lebogang "Lebo" Mashile speaks, people sit up and take note. South Africa's hottest performance poet has a voice that is warm and commanding. She also has a sure sense of self, and if you add to that the hearty peals of laughter that often interrupt her speech, you have an entrancing persona.

But she is not only known for her poetry performances. This talented artist, who lives in Johannesburg and is in her late twenties, has come into her own in the last 3 years as a TV presenter, producer, actress and recording artist. It was the SABC1 actuality programme L'atitude – with its viewership of more than two million – that turned her into a household name and gave her a national platform (one that she has recently stepped down from). As an actress, she was praised for her performance in the award-winning film Hotel Rwanda and, as a recording artist, she has a growing following (Lebo Mashile Live! came out this year).

Yet Mashile stands out not only because she operates in a star-studded world. It's because she speaks out too – about cultural identity, race, black economic empowerment, gender equality and spirituality. Her thoughts and views on these often thorny issues have been penned in the poetry anthology A Ribbon of Rhythym, for which she won the 2006 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. She has not finished having her say, though, and will continue to write, perform, present and produce. Hers is a powerful new South African voice and she feels strongly that now is the time that it should be heard. As she says, "this is the time in my life, in history, for me to empower myself and to grow".

RD: It's hard to think of another South African female entertainer whose work has the same integrity and authenticity as yours. Is this how you envisaged your work?
Mashile: I wanted people to associate my name with something genuine, and respectful, that has merit. And I police the boundaries of my integrity harshly when it comes to my work. There are other artists who are true to themselves in the work that they choose, like Gcina Mhlope. But they are few and far between. It's a constant juggle working in the formal entertainment industry as a performer trying to earn a living – and trying to create quality art in that genre – and then still being disciplined enough to create the other stuff that I do...

RD: What has been your experience as a black woman working in the entertainment industry – especially as someone who takes a stance?
Mashile: This is the era of the black woman – good and bad. People want black women in their companies, in their TV shows, on their stages – often for very superficial reasons. It's politically correct, or complies with the ANC government's agenda. But it's contradictory knowing that we are so desirable, but we're not sought after for our values, our issues, our answers. So you have to choose your battles very carefully. While my skin colour is opening a lot of doors, for me the real challenge is that once I'm inside, how much of myself can I allow in? And there are many big corporates that will throw money at you even if you don't have scruples or a moral code. I have held on to my principles because I still want to be creating good art when I am 70, and I have to take those kinds of stands now to be the person I want to be.

RD: Increasingly, young artists in the industry trade on a sexy image to gain attention. Do you find this disheartening?
Mashile: Yes. I was acutely aware of this when I first started working in TV as I did not look like everyone else. I was conscious of wearing size 40! But I was trying to say something and trying to find the space to say it in. And I have found that space. It does exist, not only because black women are "in" but I realised you have to create it. Also when my career took on a new turn and I became very "visible", I realised that I can find an audience for my voice, for what I have to say.

RD: You write poetry and prose, you're a TV presenter, an actress and an MC. How do you juggle these roles?
Mashile: With the help of God, my support system and motivated by the need to earn a living . . . somehow it all happens!

RD: You've just taken part in the Franschhoek Literary Festival. How was it?
Mashile: Absolutely wonderful. The discussions were interesting, and the rapport between the audience and the writers was dynamic. Franschhoek was a revelation too, this beautiful, wealthy, small town where it's safe to walk around on your own at midnight! It's like another world in the middle of South Africa.
The writers who were invited to take part – including Niq Mhlongo, Mary Watson, Fred Khumalo and Chris Van Wyk – represented South Africa's literary scene. But the festival did not attract a black audience and that was a first for me . . . this lily-white, austere but highly functional community. I kept on thinking, is this for real?

RD: Did you find that poetry was given enough attention? Where does it fit into the local literary landscape?
Mashile: There was a poetic presence at the festival – Rustum Kozain, Finuala Dowling and Gus Ferguson were there. Poetry is fashionable again. I have just taken part in a panel discussion at the Cape Town Book Fair on "Is Poetry the new Black?" But I don't know if it is encouraging more people to buy books and that worries me.

RD: But your poetry collection has been published, and has won an award...
Mashile: And it has sold 3 000 copies! I've come a long way since my student days when I walked around Yeoville, broke, with my poems in a notebook.

RD: You have a fairly high public profile. Is it easy to separate the outspoken performer from the writer – and from the person who likes to relax and have a life?
Mashile: It's tough. I try to separate the personas when I write. Thankfully, I learnt to do that a long time ago. As a performer, who is applauded for her work, it can be distracting and disorientating when facing a blank page. Do you pander to approval to get the applause or do you say what you really think – do you make the tough choice? Now that I am a so-called celebrity, I have to ask myself that question on a deeper level every day. It's hard when it comes to my private life. But if this is the price I have to pay to do what I want to do, then I can pay that price.

RD: Your family seems to be very important to you. What is a gathering like in your household? Are there a lot of women?
Mashile: There are. There will be a lot of food, the TV will probably be on and there will be loud conversation. And laughter and debate. I lived with a lot of opinionated people for a very long time!

RD: You're a role model to many people, but who are your own role models?
Mashile: Oprah inspires me, even though I don't agree with her politics and the way she does her thing. As an artist who was able to "own" herself and grow into an incredibly influential personality with a powerful business, it's impossible not to be inspired by her. Gcina Mhlope, who is a performer, actress, poet, writer and playwright, inspires me, too. Growing up, I watched her from afar. Now I am privileged to interact with her and see the way that she works. She is such a vibrant human being, she leaves a positive impact wherever she goes.

RD: Do you feel that, in this day and age, ordinary folk need to take a stand as individuals?
Mashile: Oh yeah. That message is getting through. You see it in popular culture, in the creation of a film like Hotel Rwanda, in a person like Oprah building a school in South Africa or Angelina Jolie becoming a global icon, going around the world adopting kids. This is the time to make difficult decisions: do you take the easy route and buy into materialism and the notion that as individuals we are islands? Or do you see yourself as an agent of change, as someone who can influence your environment, even in small ways, through your relationship with your family or your job or whatever it is that you do? Are you trying to be different? It is incredibly hard. But things are happening around us, like global warming, the war in Iraq, gender politics in South Africa, that are demanding we take a stand. Poverty, Aids, crime – all these dark forces are compelling us to search for our integrity. We are all accountable.

RD: Do you have a new book in the offing?
Mashile: Yes, there is one in the pipeline. It is very exciting. A few months ago, I started excavating my old journals and pieces of paper (I write poems wherever I am) that I was hoarding in an old filing cabinet. I found poems written over the last three to four years. The content is very different but my themes are the same: identity, spirituality, women. The poems are current, but the experiences have a maturity to them.

RD: What does the rest of the year hold for you?
Mashile: I would like to be a "writer in residence" somewhere . . . I am a workaholic, which is as destructive as any other addiction. I am very, very, very hard on myself. This year has to be about regaining myself, about giving myself time to rest and do things that really stimulate me. Not just stuff that pays the bills. So that's the other big challenge as well – to do a Lebo kind of project.