A NEW COMPETITION CATEGORY
The AVBOB Poetry Project embarks on an inspiring journey with the addition of a brand-new competition theme: New Beginnings.
This theme is a new category (alongside the current themes of Birth, Hope, Love and Death) under which poets can enter the annual AVBOB Poetry Competition, which opened its doors for new submissions on 1 August 2024.
The addition of this theme reflects AVBOB’s commitment to celebrating life’s transformative moments and helping people live better, more fulfilled lives. Poets are invited to explore the exhilarating possibilities of fresh starts and the profound joy of embarking on new chapters. As we embrace a forward-thinking vision, we encourage poets of all backgrounds to share their stories of hope and resilience, even in the face of adversity.
At least one poem, entered under this theme in each of South Africa’s 11 official written languages, will be selected for publication in the eighth annual AVBOB poetry anthology, which will be published in 2025. Additionally, one commissioned poem per language will be written on this theme.
We are confident that aspiring poets will rise to the challenge, digging deep to find their best words of hope and resilience.
By way of inspiration, Alan Finlay has agreed to share a poem from his collection, That kind of door (Deep South, 2017). Notice how much potential for change and movement he manages to suggest in a few short lines.
door
I want to give my son a door,
to hang across his
far room, something to open
to close.
Something to start.
a dark door
a light door, a
door painted red.
It doesn’t matter,
a door, with hinges
open, close
keep lightly shut
slam. open
again
that
kind of door.
The image Finlay has chosen is so simple: a door that can open and close. But here it bridges the distance between the poet and his son, who is geographically far from him. Ultimately, it becomes something mysterious, something that can hinge his son into darkness or light. And because the image is placed so memorably, in a strong poem, that door can also hinge open and shut for us now. It belongs to anyone who is willing to engage with the poem and be changed by it.
Join us as we celebrate the excitement of transformations and fresh starts by visiting the AVBOB Poetry website today at www.avbobpoetry.co.za and familiarising yourself with the competition rules.