Poetry competition thrills audience

districts. The workshops proved fruitful, as all contestants performed to the best of their ability.
Power in the Voice will run to the year 2008, after which regional competitions will be held in South Africa. The Bulawayo event was a pilot run awaiting the official launch of the project in early 2007.
A total of 14 individual and group contestants battled it out in the performance poetry competition that undoubtedly no one regretted attending.
The master of ceremonies was dub poet Albert Nyathi. Basking in the glory of a recently released DVD, Africa As We Dance Along, Nyathi was the man thrust with the responsibility of successfully leading the proceedings.
As the competition got underway the audience was taken through a joyous journey from the deepest of African jungles, to mount Kilimanjaro, to the majestic Victoria Falls and to corruption in the high offices. Topics included the ubiquitous themes of HIV/AIDS, child abuse and gender imbalance.
Laughter and ululations filled the room as future poets shone like beacons. Just as everyone had guessed, a boy from Nkulumane High School came out tops with a poem that stole the hearts and minds of many – the lament of a parent over a delinquent child.
Mpopoma High School came second through a scintillating performance by one girl in lower six. In third place was a group performance by Mzilikazi High School with a poem on HIV/AIDS. They received $3 500 for their effort.