Winners of 2022 AVBOB Poetry competition writing in various indigenous languages announced

By CityLife Arts Writer

Eleven talented poets – one for each official language of South Africa – were announced as the overall winners of the 2022 AVBOB Poetry Competition at a gala prize-giving at the Pretoria Country Club on Wednesday evening, 21 September 2022. The sparkling event was a celebration of the power of poetry to bring people together, to build community, and to offer uplifting words in times of loss.

AVBOB CEO Carl van der Riet in his keynote address described poetry as an art that has a unique ability to bypass the rational mind and logical intellectual process and to speak directly to the heart.

“We have a rich heritage of poetry in South Africa. So as we each observe Heritage Day on 24 September, I would like to encourage all of us to also remember this unique part of our heritage which has served as such a beacon of hope and inspiration for people.”

Each winner received a prize which included R10 000 cash, a R2 500 book voucher, and an elegant trophy. Each guest also received a copy of the annual anthology containing the winning poems, I wish I’d said… Vol. 5, which was launched at the event.

Supporting mother-tongue voices

Van der Riet explained that, “The support of mother-tongue voices has been a primary aim of the AVBOB Poetry Project since the very beginning and so the editors were encouraged that 65% of all poems entered were written in South Africa’s vernacular languages.” He further noted that the AVBOB Poetry Library now contains over 17 000 poems, each of which earned the poet a usage fee of R300. That amounts to over R5.2m spent on building a cultural repository of poems available to those who need words of comfort and consolation.

The top six poems in each language appear in the anthology accompanied by an English translation. A selection of commissioned poems and four Khoisan poems from the Bleek and Lloyd collection round out the anthology. This comprehensive collection was compiled by the editor-in-chief of the AVBOB Poetry Competition, Johann De Lange, and the esteemed Xitsonga academic, literary translator and founding chair of the PAN South African Language Board, Professor Nxalati CP Golele.

De Lange said, “Poetry bears witness to our lives, our loves and our losses. It helps us traverse major transitions, giving us the words to name the feelings and to tame the emotions. It helps us to fathom what we must live for, define what we must protect, and focus on what we must promote in a changing world.”

Viewers around the country participated simultaneously via livestream on AVBOB Poetry’s social media channels. The event was emceed by Rozanne McKenzie and Bolele Polisa who introduced each winner. They were joined on stage by Urban Strings Acoustic String Trio, who performed a medley of heart-warming works for two violins and a cello.

In alphabetical order of language category, the 2022 AVBOB Poetry Prize (1^st place) winners are: Clinton V. du Plessis (Afrikaans), Letitia Matthews (English), Nkosinathi Mduduzi Jiyana (isiNdebele), Sipho Kekezwa (isiXhosa), Nomkelemane Langa (isiZulu), Pabalelo Maphutha (Sepedi), Kgobani Mohapi (Sesotho), Molebatsi Joseph Bosilong (Setswana), Prisca Nkosi (Siswati), Mashudu Stanley Ramukhuba (Tshivenda) and Pretty Shiburi (Xitsonga).

To order I Wish I’d Said… Vol.5 SMS the word ‘POEM’ to 48423 (at a standard cost of R1.50 per SMS) to have it posted to you at a total cost of R240. Alternatively, email your order to tertia@naledi.co.za or find it at selected bookstores. Visit www.avbobpoetry.co.za to find elegiac poems for reading aloud at funerals or to include in memorial leaflets, and to register to enter the 2023 AVBOB Poetry Competition (which closes on 30 November 2022).

In alphabetical order of language category, the 2022 AVBOB PoetryCompetition winners are:

Afrikaans winner	Name: Clinton V. du Plessis Poem: Leemte
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Jennifer Pape	Herman Wasserman	Hannes Visser	Elna van Niekerk	Magda van der Merwe
Poem	alle eindes is volkome	Ouerhuis	Voëls weet	Duiwe	gee my dan…

English winner	Name: Letitia Matthews Poem: Time Of Death
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Ian Bell	Bongani Ndimande	Sarah Frost	Shari Daya	Siphiwe Mathebula
Poem	A nocturne in the rain	An Unforgettable Township Funeral	Henna has the scent of heaven	The work of dying	Our Mother

isiNdebele winner	Name: Nkosinathi Mduduzi Jiyana Poem: Ithemba alibulali
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Bongani Kleinbooi Skhosana	Zamokwakhe Mkhize	Thobile Skosana	Ntombifuthi Prudence Mnguni	Sinenhlanhla Masilela
Poem	Iindlela zoke zidlula kusomnini	Unamandl’ UZimu Esimkhonzako	Ngitjhaphulukile	Maswaphelo	Uyazifeza iinthembiso zakhe

isiXhosa winner	Name: Sipho Kekezwa Poem: ICocekavaras
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Bulelani Yaguga	Sisikelelwe Dlekana	Simphiwe Nolutshungu	Siwaphiwe Fortune Shweni	Kwenzile Nokuthula Nsele
Poem	Kufa Undenzile	Limathumb’antaka	Umtshato	Ndlela-ntle, makroti-ndini!	Yiba ngumzekelo omhle

isiZulu winner	Name: Nomkelemane Langa Poem: Mhla lishona ilanga
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Bongani Mavuso	Happy Mbalenhle Mchunu	Kwandile Hadebe	Melusi Mvelase	S’fiso Oscar Zwelihle Mkhize
Poem	Insika yethongo	Waguqa umngamanzi	Ingonyama yokufa	Leyo mvunge yezinyembezi	UShona Ferguson

Sepedi winner	Name: Pabalelo Maphutha Poem: Se išeng dipelo mafiša
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Precious Thathane	Mapule Ramaila Moswane	Lethabo Zanele Nhlapo	Mahlatsi Maqwenjo	Tshepiso Makgoloane
Poem	Koko Raisibe	O fodile	Mo felegetš ka tlotlo	Phatlalatšo ya phahlwana ya mohu	Ge ke eya go khutša

Sesotho winner	Name: Kgobani Mohapi Poem: Ke o entseng?
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Moeketsi Paul Mofokeng	Nthofela Merriam Seobi	Patrick Sizwe Mofokeng	Tseliso Masolane	Ithabeleng Mosiana
Poem	Bohloko	Moratuwa	Boella le ya ja!	Madi a keledi	Lerato la nnete

Setswana winner	Name: Molebatsi Joseph Bosilong Poem: Tsholofelo
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Raymond Motsage	Nzimeni Jimmy Pitch	Ontiretse Lentotwane	Keamogetse Molaiwa	Boipelo Molefe
Poem	Loso	Mmino	Katlego	Bo re setse	Lerato la kgaitsadi

Siswati winner	Name: Prisca Nkosi Poem: Imihuzuko
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Beketele Mahlalela	Nonzwelo Bhila	Nonkululeko Mashele	Ishmael Tshepiso Mokoena	Mhlawuleni Mashego
Poem	Lindza buvivane bakho	Nemkhumbi uhlangabetana netiphepho elwandle	Wani uphindze uvuke	Vaccine	Say No to GBV

Tshivenda winner	Name: Mashudu Stanley Ramukhuba Poem: Maduvha a mudali
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Billy Masuluke	Mafutha Mengwai	Prince Masuluke	Portia Mulaudzi	Rabelani Mutshatshi
Poem	Muvhulahi	Ri vhafhiri shangoni	Musi ndi tshi ḓo ṱuwa	Ndivhuwo kha vhaongi	Zwo itwa nga u sa pfa

Xitsonga winner	Name: Pretty Shiburi Poem: N’hwembe
Runners-up	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place
Poet	Muhluri Devine Maceke	Portia T Rikhotso	DR Valoyi	Vukosi Mugaza Hlungwani	Laster Rhulani Lavhengwa
Poem	U wanuna	U kotisile mberha	Vuya ka mina	Hi vakatikulobye	AVBOB, nyeleti ya rixaka