Call for Submissions: Every Generation

zamantungwa | April 28th, 2013 | editorial | No Comments

This is a call for the second print quarterly of Poetry Potion.

In his essay, On National Culture (Wretched of the Earth , 2001 ed), Frantz Fanon examines national culture as affected by colonialism and the revolution. Out of this essay has come one of the most powerful, often repeated quotes ever:

“Each generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.”

This line has inspired many. It poses a challenge to whoever hears it or reads it.  This quote can either buoy you or sink you as you realise that you have or haven’t yet discovered your mission.

Since June is youth month in South Africa, I am calling for submissions inspired by this theme:

every generation

The generation of 1976 discovered their own mission. And because they discovered their mission, they became the catalyst for change in South Africa. Considerable change has been achieved because of youth of 76 but as we know this generation, the “freedom generation” is often accused of being clueless, apathetic, uninterested.

What is the mission of this generation? More importantly what is your mission? If you’ve found your mission, how do you exemplify? Will we fulfill or betray our missions?

I’m looking for poems that go beyond just “expressing yourself”.

DEADLINE: 25 May 2013 5PM (+2:00 GMT)

The best poems will do more than use the theme phrase in a poem. In fact, you don’t have to use the theme phrase in your poem at all.

The best poems will pick the phrase apart and interpret and discover something amazing in the theme “every generation“. The best poems will play with form – stanza, rhyme, syntax, aesthetic, language, subject. The best poems will challenge, dazzle, move, inspire the reader.

To submit poems, click here. Make sure to read our submission guidelines before submitting.

If you have any questions, then please comment below, or on our Facebook page or on Twitter (#EveryGeneration) or send an email.

 

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