LIMPOPO – THERE is a great need to promote literature in the country because people who enjoy reading and writing are most likely to show an interest in academic work and have a wide general knowledge.
This was according to Stan Almendro from Whisper Poetry Club, who spoke to Express during a recent interview.
He said the club was about promoting the culture of reading amongst children from the age of seven years, and also catered for adults. “We are a literature club which is friendly and family orientated. We offer short stories, poetry, photography and music.”
He said they also distributed reading material to schools around the country because they wanted to stimulate an interest in learning while they exposed talented writers. “Over the years we have published 10 books and supplied 7 000 schools with material. We want to continue so that we can touch more lives.”
He said they encouraged children to write poems and short stories and they selected the best, which were then published, while the music and other acts were recorded and a DVD released. “We also offer a platform to the adult audience where they write columns and open letters.”
He said it was exciting to see the number of people who participated and they wanted to reach every part of the country because there was so much talent just waiting for exposure.
Editor June Almendro said the club invited people to participate so that they could help them to identify communities that were in need. “Anyone who knows of schools that need reading material anywhere in the province can let us know so that we can help,” she said.
She said because they did not operate within the province it was challenging to find communities who needed them.
“We recently donated books to the Tshivhuyuni community outside Makhado. They were identified by comedian Kedibone Mulaudzi and we are happy that now they can enjoy reading and learning.”
She further said their annual competition was now open to both children and adults. “The winners’ writing will be published in our annual book and for the other artists we release a DVD every year.”
The closing date for the competition is September 30. For more information and to enter the competition go to Giselle@whisperpoetry.com.
