Jim Pascual Agustin Shortlisted for the 2017 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award

The Jacana Literary Foundation has announced the shortlist for the 2017 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award.

Congratulations to PEN SA member Jim Pascual Agustin, who has been shortlisted for his poem “Coligny Sunflowers Near Scotland Section, Tlhabologang Township”.

PEN SA member Athol Williams is one of the judges of this year’s competition, along with 2016 PEN SA Student Writing Prize-winner Koleka Putuma.

See the longlist here.

Press release from the Jacana Literary Foundation:

The Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award 2017 Shortlist Announcement

From the longlist of poems selected by this year’s judging panel for publication in volume seven of the anthology, Professor Mongane Wally Serote (chair of both the panel and the Jacana Literary Foundation) has selected the three finalists for the 2017 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award.

The shortlisted selection of poems this year includes a representation of Afrikaans, Sepedi and an English poem. 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. R6000 will be awarded for first place, R4000 for second place and R2000 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 Mashigo, 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.

For more information, contact the Jacana Literary Foundation on awards@jacana.co.za.

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(Image courtesy of Jacana Literary Foundation)