Avbob launches competition to inspire nation’s poets
Mutual assurance society Avbob has started a poetry project and competition that is open to all South Africans in all 11 official languages to celebrate the richness and diversity of all the voices of our land.
According to Avbob chief executive Frik Rademan, the poetry project will become a vehicle for people to finally express those unspoken whispers of the heart.
He added that the competition would give entrants the opportunity to “catch hold of a moment and lift it out of the ordinary”.
The company has launched a Facebook page that is devoted to poetry and plans to launch a dedciated website. Rademan said the main features of the website would be to publish as many quality new poems as possible in all 11 South African official languages.
He also stated that the website would form the platform from which they would launch a nationwide poetry competition. Rademan added that every language is richly layered with nuances that could only be fully understood by someone who speaks, thinks and dreams in that language.
“For this reason, we’ve appointed a reputable editor in every one of our official languages to evaluate the entries fairly,” he said.
R300 will be paid for every poem that is approved by the relevant editor and the poem will feature alongside other poems on the Avbob poetry website, where it would become part of a library to provide words of beauty and comfort to the people of South Africa.
Rademan added that all entrants of approved poems will be in line for the Poetry Prize, in the specific language categories and that the respective prizes would bring cash rewards.
“We will announce the winners towards the end of March 2018 and will roll out the red carpet for them at an awards ceremony.”
Rademan stated that when grief has rendered us mute, poetry enables us to capture the legacy of our loved ones for all eternity, and to express our loss in a meaningful way.
Poetry enables us to express our loss