The three poets shortlisted for this year’s Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award and Anthology have been announced.

The shortlisted selection of poems this year includes a representation of Afrikaans, Sepedi and English.

Professor Mongane Wally Serote, chair of the judging panel and the Jacana Literary Foundation, selected the three finalists from the longlist of poems selected by this year’s judging panel for publication in volume seven of the anthology.

Serote had this to say about the language variety: ‘There is a mystery in the poems; all of them are mysterious. It is not the Afrikaans, English, Sesotho, Sepedi, isiZulu or isiXhosa in them which is mysterious. It is the art in the poems.’

In alphabetical order, the three shortlisted poems are:

• ‘Coligny Sunflowers Near Scotland Section, Tlhabologang Township’ by Jim Pascual Agustin
• ‘Eerste mense’ by René Bohnen
• ‘Mahlalerwa’ by Moses Seletisha

The winner will be announced at a private launch at the Nirox WORDS 2017 Festival on 21 October. R6,000 will be awarded for first place, R4,000 for second place and R2,000 for third place.

The anthology is a truly democratic as well as creative effort, in keeping with the spirit of the legendary intellectual giant, Sol Plaatje; activist, linguist, translator, novelist, journalist and leader.

About the award

Each year the Jacana Literary Foundation (JLF) invites South African poets, young and old, debut or previously published, to submit for consideration up to three works in any of the official languages of South Africa. Athol Williams, Goodenough Mashego, Mongane Wally Serote, Pieter Odendaal and Koleka Putuma are on this year’s judging panel. Judging blind, they select a longlist of poems for publication in the anthology. The project is funded by the European Union.

Categories South Africa

Tags Awards Jacana Literary Foundation Jim Pascual Agustin Moses Seletisha News Poetry René Bohnen Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award Wally Serote