The Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), with principal funding from the City of Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture, calls out to high school pupils to submit poems as part of the 17th POETRY AFRICA Schools Competition.
The POETRY AFRICA festival, now in its 17th edition, takes place from 14 to 19 October 2013. To set the Durban stage alight this year, are a range of popular international poets including Ari Sitas, Malika Ndlovu, Lesego Rampolokeng, Kabomo Vilakazi, Busiswa Gqulu, Natalia Molebatsi, Kobus Moolman, Khulile Nxumalo and many more.
With its long-standing commitment towards nurturing a culture of reading and writing poetry, especially amongst the youth, Poetry Africa invites high school learners to take up the exciting opportunity of submitting material for the poetry competition which is held in conjunction with the festival. There is no particular topic for the poems and they can be written in English, Zulu or Afrikaans. No more than two poems per learner will be accepted, with a maximum length of one A4 page per poem - illegible entries will not be considered.
Poems must be submitted to the Centre for Creative Arts or faxed to (031) 260 3074 by 20 September 2013. Winners will read their poems on the main stage of the Poetry Africa festival on the evening of 18 October. Prizes will be awarded by Adams Booksellers, with the Mazisi Kunene Foundation awarding the prizes for the Zulu winners.
Participants can send their poems to the Centre for Creative Arts via e-mail on cca@ukzn.ac.za or can post their poem to the Centre for Creative Arts on: Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus, Durban, 4041, South Africa. For more details about this year’s Poetry Africa, visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za or call (031) 260 2506.
Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), the 17th Poetry Africa is funded by the City of Durban and the KwaZulu Natal Department of Arts and Culture and the French Insitute of South Africa. The Centre for Creative Arts is housed in the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The CCA is currently a special project of the newly appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cheryl Potgieter, in the College of Humanities at UKZN.
Caption: Last year’s winners in the isiZulu Poetry Competition Zoleka Maluleka (Umbelebele Secondary School) for Isibani Sami, Nombulelo Gumede (King Shaka High School) for Thingo Lwenkosazane, Zizikazi Dlamini (Durban Girls High) for Zikhohlisana Zihlomile. English winners in the schools Poetry Competition Julia van der Riet (St. Annes College) for Preparation for a Poem (A work in progress), Zamangwane Zikhali (Durban Girls High School) for Cold Sunlight and Jenna Dunford (Westville Senior Primary School) for The Graveyard