Doek! winners announced

  • 11 Months Ago - 2023-12-01 09:30:00
The winners of the second edition of the Doek! Literary Awards took place earlier this week, with Roxane Bayer, Nina van Zyl, Veripuami Nandee Kangumine and Jean-Claude Tjitamunisa taking home prizes.
In the fiction section, Roxane Bayer was announced as the winner for “Letters to Chloe” – a sensitively written piece about the changing nature of friendship and how it affects two friends who slowly grow apart.
Nina Van Zyl’s “Motherhood” was awarded the nonfiction award for her essay which explores her experiences of pregnancy and child-rearing, while Veripuami Nandee Kangumine won the poetry section for his trio of poems “Daughters Of A Witch”, “There Isn't A Word In Your Language For Being Touched”, and “The Jackal Who Prepares You For Marriage” that provide visceral sensorial explorations of trauma and violence.
Finally, Jean-Claude Tjitamunisa’s photography series “The Gift” was one of the most well-received visual offerings. His use of black masculine figures to explore gentleness and sensuality has defined his photographic style.
About the awards
The Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards (BWDLAs) take place every two years to celebrate the works of four Namibian literary artists published in Doek! Literary Magazine. As part of Doek’s mission to foster a robust literary community in the country, the awards seek to bring a wider Namibian and international audience to the selected works and literary artists.
Adjudicated by Dr Nelson Mlambo, a lecturer specialising in African literature; Natasha Uys, a well-known journalist and the winner of the 2021 Nonfiction Award of the BWDLAs; and Namafu Amutse, who won the inaugural Visual Arts Award of the BWDLAs in 2021, this year’s offering of writings provided the reading public with works covering a broad set of themes.
While congratulating the winners, Bank Windhoek’s Bronwyn Moody, said that the bank believes in the power of storytelling, capturing the imagination of audiences and taking them on a journey, whether the medium is sculpture, the written word, photography, or theatre.