Announcing the Winners of the Samespraak Poetry Competition
Samespraak Poetry Competition
November 2023-February 2024
We received 20 poems for Samespraak’s first poetry competition from November 2023 until February 2024. We received poems in four languages: Afrikaans, Dutch, English and isiXhosa. Our evaluation process focused on how each poem organizes an experience and communicates it effectively. We have paid attention to the following criteria that came to the fore in Dr Charl-Pierre Naudé’s lecture:
Do the lyrical I make contact with themselves?
Do the lyrical I make contact with others?
Does the poem tell us something about the world that is burning (internally or externally)?
Meta-language: does the poem play a game with poetic theory/pose a question?
Does the poem metaphorize a shared experience where reading and writing are transcended?
Does the poem invite interpretation? Does the poem evoke emotion in the reader? Does it touch the others in the experience? Does the poem evoke a new experience?
Based on the above, we have chosen one winner, namely:
Geert Viaene, “Wie spreekt dezelfde taal”
Additionally, we would like to make special mention to the following two poets for their outstanding submissions:
The winner, Geert Viaene, will receive a signed copy of Dr Charl-Pierre Naudé’s second poetry collection, In die geheim van die dag (2007).
The Jury,
Drs Jessica Van Wynsberge & Prof Alwyn Roux
