Write something, move someone
An incentive of R300 will be paid to you if your poem is selected.
LOSS makes people vulnerable, whether it is the loss of income or the loss of a dream at the death of a loved one.
A website completely devoted to South African poetry, AVBOB, is calling on all established and aspiring poets to help those who are bereaved and who desperately need to hear words of comfort.
With a month to go to upload your poems, and over 10 000 poems already submitted, entries are encouraged from the community.
The focus of the website is twofold. First, AVBOB wants to publish as many quality new poems as possible in all 11 of the official South African languages. These poems will be freely available to all lovers of this enchanting and everlasting literary form, and to all those searching for a verse to give expression to the complex and unique emotions they are experiencing.
Secondly, the website forms the platform from which AVBOB has launched a nationwide poetry competition. The competition is open to all South Africans, in all 11 official languages.
ALSO READ: Talk mental health platform aims to help students
Should a poem be accepted by one of the editors, it opens up a world of exciting new opportunities for the entrant of the poem. First, every poem which is approved by the relevant editor is featured alongside other poems on the AVBOB poetry website, where it becomes part of a library of content to provide words of beauty and comfort to the people of South Africa. As a token of appreciation, an incentive of R300 is paid for each poem selected.
Every person who enters the poetry project stands an equal chance for their work to feature alongside that of some of our most accoladed poets in a 100-poem print anthology, entitled “I wish I’d said”. The anthology will be published in August 2018. The title of the anthology is also the theme for the poetry competition. This theme resonated deeply with AVBOB because all of us, at some point in our lives, have felt regret for the things we’ve left unsaid. Perhaps we wish we’d said, “I love you”, “forgive me” or “I will never forget you”.
To enter your poem, visit: www.avbobpoetry.co.za.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
