Mohalenyane Phakela
TEN local poets will battle for the M1 000 winners’ cheque in the inaugural Lentsoe – The Poetry Slam competition which will be held at Fairways Plaza in Maseru on 28 October this year.
The wordsmiths will compete in the three categories of leadership, lentsoe (meaning ‘word’) and freestyle. The contestants will perform before an audience and a panel of judges that will determine the winner.
One of the organisers, Mathobatsi Sekoere, said they introduced the competition as part of efforts to revive the moribund local poetry sector.
“We have been hosting weekly poetry sessions (every Thursday) called Lentsoe for the past two years and we believe this contest will incentivise poets to write more as they will now have a prize which they can use as a reference,” Sekoere said.
“The main aim is to keep the culture of the spoken word alive and valued.
“The other aim is to sharpen the different skills required in a performer including expression, stage presence, confidence, connection with the audience and ability to clearly communicate the message of the poem. We want to groom poets to comfortably perform on platforms in and outside the country.”
She also said the competition was open to everyone including learners in high schools.
