By Mel Cooke, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
AS 2004 steams to a close, Redbones the Blues Café's monthly evenings of contemporary literature will climax on Tuesday, November 30, with the fourth annual 'Writer's Award'.
Eight outstanding poets who have read in previous months this year have been invited to participate in the event, which begins at 8:00 p.m. The invitees are Chandis, Duane Francis, Glen Laughton, Princess Love, Christine Neil-Wright, the Nomadzz, A-Dziko Simba and Novlette Surjue.
ASSESSMENT
They will be allowed 10 to 15 minutes each to do three pieces of their work, then be assessed on originality, context and performance. The poets will be judged by a panel comprised of poets Gina Rey Forrest and Raymond Mair, storyteller Amina Blackwood Meeks and playwright Trevor Rhone.
Last year's winner of the Redbones 'Writer's Award' was Anna Brown, who was also judged to have had the best poem.
Cash and kind are again up for the taking at this year's award. The first place winner receives $2,500, the first runner-up gets lunch for two and the third place receives a bottle of wine courtesy of Redbones the Blues Café.
The person who writes the 'Poem of the Year' also gets $2,500.
