MARY Oliver once said, ‘Poetry isn’t a profession; it’s a way of life. It’s an empty basket; you put your whole life into it and make something out of that’, which is exactly what poets at the fourth annual Umfolozi FET College Poetry Roadshow proved.
Evident to the streams of unleashed talent at the college, the prestigious event, held at the eSikhawini Campus, was well supported with the hall packed to the rafters last Wednesday.
Overall winner Mbali ‘MaGcwabe’ Mkhize walked away with a prize of R2 000, runner-up Khetha Gumede with R1 000 and in third place Ntuthuko Mntambo received R500.
The roadshow, aimed at encouraging students to develop their creative writing skills as budding poets, was held in partnership with KaMavuso Entertainment Verse, owned by Ukhozi FM’s DJ Bongani Mavuso.
Poems of the poets who participated will be published in Mavuso’s 12th book titled, ‘Izimbali ZeMfolozi’ this month.
‘It is a pleasure to see young people expressing themselves in their mother tongue. No matter how modernised our lives are, we should never forget our roots. The book is aimed at promoting the work of these extremely talented students. I must say I was very impressed with the work produced this year it is clear that these youngsters have a bright future ahead of them,’ said Mavuso.
Mavuso, who started writing poetry while he was studying towards his BA in Communication Science at the University of Zululand in 1996, plans to invite world renowned poet Muziwakhe Mbuli to the next Poetry Road show.
