The Young Fenland Poet Laureate Award 2019-2020
The Young Fenland Poet Laureate Award (upt to 17years) 2019-2020 and the Fenland Poet Laureate Award (18+) is open for entries until midnight on October 4th 2019 from poets who live, work or attend school in Fenland/North East Cambridgeshire, as defined here: https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/66063.html.
The competition will be co-judged by Award-winning poets Wendy Cope, OBE, and Lachlan Mackinnon.
To be eligible, poems must be less than 40 lines and previously unpublished. Only one entry per poet. Poems can be in free verse or a stricter form. There is no set theme, but it is expected that the entries will reference Fenland in some way, either subtly through imagery or more directly about life in Fenland, for example.
Please send three hard-copies of your entry to the following address: PO Box 234, Wisbech, PE14 4EZ, along with a brief statement explaining what you feel you have to gain from the role of Young Fenland Poet Laureate and what community-based work you would like to develop throughout your year as the Young Fenland Poet Laureate. Please do not include your name and contact details on the three copies of your poem, as the competition will be judged anonymously. Do send a separate cover-sheet with this information. Please send an SAE if you require acknowledgment of your entry. Only entries with SAEs will receive an acknowledgement response.
The winning and commended poems will be published in the Autumn issue of the Fenland Poetry Journal and the prize-winner and runners-up will be invited to attend a ceremony at March Town Hall in November for the presentation of awards.
If you require further information, please contact: fenlandpoetlaureateaward@gmail.com
Poetry in Shop Windows Project, part of the Fenland Arts Development Scheme
30 Sept – 4 Oct
To coincide with the Young Fenland Poet Laureate Awards and National Poetry Day, the Fenland Arts Development Scheme is launching the Poetry in Shop Windows Project. All children who live or attend school in Fenland, aged 17 years or under are eligible to take part.
Children’s poems will be displayed for one week 30 Sept – 4 Oct in shop windows and museums around Fenland to coincide with National Poetry Day. This year’s theme is truth. Parents and teachers, please visit https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/about-npd/ for resources.
For further information on how schools can take part and which businesses and museums in your area are involved, please email: poetryinshops@gmail.com
This project has been developed by Elisabeth Sennitt-Clough and is supported by the Office of Stephen Barclay MP.