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New Contrast is devoted to publishing original work, mainly poetry and prose, by South African writers, and other activities incidental to that.
NEW CONTRAST 183 - Spring 2018!
In August 2017, the AVBOB Mutual Assurance Society launched a poetry competition that was unusual in many respects. Most noteworthy is that the competition offered entries in all the 11 official languages of South Africa covering the themes of Love, Hope, Birth and Death. The winners of the 2017 AVBOB Poetry Project (one in each of the 11 official languages of South Africa) were announced at a gala event held in June 2018. AVBOB collaborated with New Contrast to publish the winners in the Spring issue of our magazine.
In this issue:
An Interview with Mr Frik Rademan, CEO of AVBOB
AVBOB POETRY WINNERS
Afrikaans
- 1st Place: Lynthia Julius, Vir Al Jarreau
- Translation: Lynthia Julius, For Al Jarreau
- 2nd Place: Susan Smith, passaat
- Translation: Susan Smith, passage
- 3rd Place: Herman Lategan, Vir ’n bidsprinkaan
- Translation: Herman Lategan, For a praying mantis
Commissioned Poems
- Johann Lodewyk Marais, Papiersbasdoring
- Translation: Johann Lodewyk Marais, Paperbark thorn
- Johan Myburg, In memoriam
- Translation: Johan Myburg, In memoriam
English
- 1st Place: Caroline F. Archer, Puppet master
- 2nd Place: Helen Moffett, Brain MRI
- 3rd Place: Mfundo Mthombeni, It’s been too long
Commissioned Poems
- John Eppel, Dying poet
- Gail Dendy, Rain
Isindebele
- 1st Place: Queen Mahlangu, Litjhingile
- Translation: Queen Mahlangu, It’s over
- 2nd Place: Nurse Nonhlanhla Mbonani, Khetha Yena
- Translation: Nurse Nonhlanhla Mbonani, Choose Him
- 3rd Place: Thabi Mahamba, Ngiyathokoza ngokungikhulisa
- Translation: Thabi Mahamba, Thank you for raising me
Commissioned Poems
- Johanna Nurse Malobola-Ndlovu, Sangenelwa mgobha ngendlini
- Translation: Johanna Nurse Malobola-Ndlovu, Our family is in for the high jump
Isixhosa
- 1st Place: Nolusindiso Penxa, Akwaba ndandithethile
- Translation: Nolusindiso Penxa, I wish I’d said
- 2nd Place: Sihle Ndamane, Ndicela ningandilileli
- Translation: Sihle Ndamane, Please don’t cry for me
- 3rd Place: Simphiwe Nolutshungu, Ndiye ndalibala
- Translation: Simphiwe Nolutshungu, I had forgotten
Commissioned Poems
- Ayanda Billie, Ezo ntaba letsheng la maditlhare
- Translation: Ayanda Billie, Those mountains are fountains of health
Isizulu
- 1st Place: Kutsi Emmanuel Lindinkosi Mpanza, Wangishiya ngokuzuma
- Translation: Kutsi Emmanuel Lindinkosi Mpanza, You left me without warning
- 2nd Place: Lungile Chamane, Siwile isihlahla
- Translation: Lungile Chamane, The tree has fallen
- 3rd Place: S’Fiso Oscar Zwelihle Mkhize, Kuzofa ukufa
- Translation: S’Fiso Oscar Zwelihle Mkhize, Death will die
Commissioned Poems
- Elphus Jaha Mhlanga, Amazibuko empilo
- Translation: Elphus Jaha Mhlanga, The bridges of life
Sepedi
- 1st Place: Mosima Phakane, Khutša
- Translation: Mosima Phakane, Rest
- 2nd Place: Moses Seletisha, Mahlodi
- Translation: Moses Seletisha, Mahlodi
- 3rd Place: Mokgaetji Glory Tladi, Ditebogo di kae?
- Translation: Mokgaetji Glory Tladi, Where’s the gratitude?
Commissioned Poems
- Kgabo Sebatjane, Mmago setšhaba
- Translation: Kgabo Sebatjane, Mother of the nation
Sesotho
- 1st Place: Tieho Mkhendane, Ntjapedi
- Translation: Tieho Mkhendane, Unity
- 2nd Place: Deo Mogoera, Sefofane
- Translation: Deo Mogoera, Aeroplane
- 3rd Place: Themba Motete, Nako jwale e fihlile
- Translation: Themba Motete, The time has come
Commissioned Poems
- Mothonzi “Lesika” Dipholo, Enwa ke a jwang a etsetswang kodiamalla le ke dipula?
- Translation: Mothonzi “Lesika” Dipholo, Who is this whose elegy is sung even by the rains?
Setswana
- 1st Place: Nthabiseng Cujane, Go siame
- Translation: Nthabiseng Cujane, It’s alright
- 2nd Place: Keabetsw Ramatlo, Mma o re siile
- Translation: Keabetsw Ramatlo, Mother you left us
Commissioned Poems
- Tisetso Thiba, Tatlhegelo
- Translation: Tisetso Thiba, Loss
Siswati
- 1st Place: Thembi Gwebu, Tinyembeti
- Translation: Thembi Gwebu, Tears
- 2nd Place: Obed Hearthstones, Kumtsatsile
- Translation: Obed Hearthstones, It has taken her
Commissioned Poems
- B.B. Malangwane, Insika
- Translation: B. B. Malangwane, The pillar
Tshivenda
- 1st Place: Samuel Ngwedzeni Tshovhoṱa, U bebwa ha lutshetshe
- Translation: Samuel Ngwedzeni Tshovhoṱa, A child is born
- 2nd Place: Domina Napoleon Munzhelele, Ndi ṅwana wau
- Translation: Domina Napoleon Munzhelele, It is your child
- 3rd Place: Ndivhuyafhi Godfey Musubi, Maduvha a kalakataho
- Translation: Ndivhuyafhi Godfey Musubi, Bitter days
Commissioned Poems
- M.J. Maiwashe, Marema na mukhoro
- Translation: Dr Agnes Mawela, Birds of a feather
Xitsonga
- 1st Place: Mashimbye Owners Hluvukani, Xihlamariso
- Translation: Mashimbye Owners Hluvukani, A surprise
- 2nd Place: Musa Aubrey Baloyi, U rhukane swikwembu
- Translation: Musa Aubrey Baloyi, You swore at the gods
- 3rd Place: Ximbani Eric Mabaso, Maxangu na nhlomulo
- Translation: Ximbani Eric Mabaso, Grief and sorrow
Commissioned Poems
- Ximbani Eric Mabaso, Rifu I rifu rin’we
- Translation: Ximbani Eric Mabaso, There is only one death
ARTWORK
- Renée Rossouw, Kabuki on Ochre / Lines S Moves On / Black & White Wood 01 / Black & White Wood 02
NEW CONTRAST 182 - Winter 2018!
In this issue:
An interview with Unathi Slasha by Thabo Jijana
Poetry
- Ingrid Jonker, Bitterbessie Dagbreek
- Christine Coates, The Sky Above Me / Learning to Drive
- Rizwan Akhtar, Homing Pigeon / Embraced
- Joan Hambidge, Pase 2018 / Erfstuk: Maggie Laubser
- Motlalentoa Letsosa, At My Neighbour’s Funeral
- Louella Sullivan, Cooking Lessons
- Stephen Symons, My Son was Conscripted
- Kimentha Govender, Puzzle Piece / Dear...
- Natalie Crick, I See You / Suburbia
- Tariro Ndoro, the people in my pelt
- Mark A. Murphy, 21st Century Poem
- Erica Penfold, Let’s Move In
- Ilse van Staden, hoender en eier / waterwiggel
- Francine Simon, Apaulette
- Janine Lange, I Live in a House / Yolanda
- Kambani Ramano, what is the meaning of skin? / when no-one was looking I washed my hands
Prose
- Shubnum Khan, Turning to Look Back: Ten Moments
- Wendy Woodward, Stories and Silences in my Father’s House
- Samuel E. Cole, Apartment Three on Brimley Street in Teotoni Falls
- Catriona Ross, Life Nine
- Russell Kaschula, Redemption
- Melina Meletakos, Unanchored
Artwork & Other
- Katharine Meeding, Johan Laughing / The Sagacity of the Beard / The Lady and the Cat / Die Offisier
- Notes from a Bibliophile: Views and Reviews from Tony Ullyatt and Wendy Woodward
2018 Ingrid Jonker Prize
Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese wins 2018 Ingrid Jonker Prize for a ‘completely original’ and ‘moving’ chronicle
Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese’s debut collection of poetry Loud and Yellow Laughter, published by Botsotso, is the winner of the 2018 Ingrid Jonker prize for poetry.
Busuku Mathese’s entry was described by one judge as ‘completely original: the presentation of family history as a play, in which the narrator is an unreliable character’. The poet was praised for the ‘the mix of WW2 history, the narrator’s dilemmas about being adopted, and the way she manages to weave these together without ever losing her balance or falling into incongruity’. Another judge highlighted how Busuku Mathese’s ‘memoir in the form of a collage… offers fragments in several voices, some of them “reconstructed”. [The collection] ‘movingly reflects the quest of the ‘The Girl Child’, as intimate ‘curator’ of family memory and experience, to integrate the surprising puzzle that is her current self’.
A record twenty entries were received for the 2018 prize. Many contenders received praise from the three judges. Collective Amnesia by Koleka Putuma was hailed as ‘practically a book of directions, a chart of expression, for thousands of young South Africans, grappling with the issues she raises… [the poet’s voice is] substantive and compelling. A Season of Tenderness and dread by Abu Bakr Solomons ‘makes most satisfying reading; …The volume has broad reach; the poems [are] deeply moving, questioning or enlightening.’ Metaphysical Balm by Michele Betty was commended for ‘the exceptional skill in which the author handles intertextuality’. Other volumes mentioned appreciatively in the judges’ reports included Questions for the Sea by Stephen Symons, Unlikely by Colleen Crawford Cousins, Modern Rasputin by Rosa Lyster, Thungachi by Francine Simon and Serurubele by Katleho Kano Shoro.
This year’s judges were Sindiwe Magona, Helen Moffett and John Cartwright. Judges of the Ingrid Jonker prize are unaware of one another’s identities until judging is complete.
The Ingrid Jonker Prize is awarded in alternate years to the best debut collection in English or Afrikaans. The winner receives a cash prize dependant on the interest accumulated in an account originally established for this purpose.
Ronel de Goede is the convenor of the Ingrid Jonker committee. The other committee members are Leon de Kock, Finuala Dowling, Beverly Rycroft and Vincent Oliphant.
The prize-winner may be contacted at Sindi.busuku@gmail.com. Her publisher Allan Kolski Horwitz may be contacted at 011 4872112 or Botsotso@artslink.co.za.
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