World of Words, an intimate poetry session that takes place every last Sunday of the month at Reception Kitchen and Bar, aims to cultivate a creative culture where young artists can grow and thrive in their craft.
The sessions are known for their immense artistic experience that inspires innovative thinking through creativity, this can be seen through the match effect, which is an experience enhancer and the raffle competition. The free poetry event in Joburg breaks down barriers for inspiration or platform for expression and to add on to the experience one young entrepreneur is given a platform to showcase their service or product during the session every month.
World of Words has achieved substantial growth since its inception in 2017, from an attendance of four people to now attracting hundreds of people every month.
“We have been featured on festival stages such as the Human Rights Festival on the Poetry stage where we gave young poets the opportunity to perform alongside poetry legends such as Lebohang Mashile. Through the worlds very diverse and unique vibe it has developed a loyal and consistent following because like-minded individuals feel at home in the space,” said Hector Mgiba, W.o.W founder.
In February, WoW raised funds towards someone’s tuition fees and in March they had WoW Cares, an initiative that spearheaded the collection of clothes, food, and blankets to aid people who were affected by Cyclone Idai in Mozambique. The poetry platform also became part of the Dice partnership and had a dialogue on creative and social enterprise involving industry experts who shared their insight and advice on how to monetise one’s artistic talents.
“World of Words has grown beyond expectations, we recently launched our logo and subtle merchandise for people to purchase and we plan to do more things to grow the culture and what we stand for. One of the new exciting things we plan is a Poetry Slam competition happening on 27 July at Pop Art Theatre in Maboneng where one lucky poet stands a chance to win R5 000,” Mgiba said.
Auditions will take place on 30 June at Reception Kitchen and Bar. For those who can’t make it, auditions can also be submitted via social media and tag @wowpoetry247 #wowpoetry247, online auditions close on 8 of July, and successful candidates will then be invited to the briefing session on 13 July. People can expect more growth and collaborations, more amazing sessions and super talented poets to grace the WoW stage.
