So school’s out, TV doesn’t have much to offer, and the weather this summer is typically British. Need something to keep you busy? If you’re aged between 11 and 14, how about submitting something to the John Betjeman Young People’s Poetry Competition for the chance to win £1000 – £500 to pocket for yourself and the rest to donate to your school’s English department?
The competition is now in its third year. The inaugural prize was presented by the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion to 12-year-old Jamal Msebele in front of a packed congregation at the church of St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol. Entrants are limited to one poem each about “their local surroundings or any aspect thereof, whether it be a house, a street, a garden, a park, a city or a wider landscape. The spirit behind the competition is to encourage young people to understand and appreciate the importance of place.”
More information here.
Opportunity for young people and creative / cultural organisations within the 5 host boroughs of the 2012 Games.
A New Direction are looking for 20 young people (aged between 14-19) from the 5 host boroughs of the 2012 Games, to become programmers – to plan and run their own events with support from leading local creative and cultural organisations and venues from across the 5 host boroughs for London 2012, as part of CREATE 2010.
The deadline is 20 July 09.
http://www.anewdirection.org.uk/create
Open to young people aged 11-17, The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2009 – deadline for all submissions 31st July 2009. Time to get writing! This year’s judge is Lemn Sissay.
Previous winner of the Foyle Young Poets and Respect Slam, Jay Bernard comments:
‘Some of us are excited about the US elections, curious about global warming or worried about increasing levels of violence. In a society where young people are mostly looked down upon, writing is a chance to talk about these things, to use words brilliantly and to find others who want to listen. Take it. Shake things up. The world is ours.’
Those young poets whose work is selected as the most promising will attend a week long residential course at a prestigious Arvon Centre, where they will be tutored by this year’s judges, Lemn Sissay and Selima Hill. Those winners under the age of 14 will receive a visit to their school from a professional poet. Lemn Sissay has this message to spur on any would-be young poets out there:
‘Get writing! If you don’t do it now then when will you? I bet some of you write poetry secretly. Why secretly? You use your imagination everyday, even if you think you don’t…Write yourself a dream or a nightmare. Say what you never thought you could say. Write that secret. Write that lyrical poem. Write that funny poem. Write if you’ve never written a poem before.’
For more information or enter online go to www.foyleyoungpoets.org
Ever wondered what happened to the student-poet stars of the Lynk Reach London Teenage Poetry SLAM? This year, the SLAM legacy continues as ten talented young poets take to the mic for the 2009 Senior SLAM, all hoping to win fame, kudos and a performance slot at this year’s London Teenage Poetry SLAM Final in June.
Contestants come from different schools and different years of the project; what they share is a passion for words and a desire to keep on writing and performing. Competition will be fierce as poets are given the chance to shine in two rounds of performance, watched by a panel of poetic experts: Jay Bernard, Charlie Dark and former SLAM contestant Rosie Knight. The event will feature guest slots from inspirational performers on the London poetry scene.
More info after the jump… Read More »
As a part of The Mix Festival on 15 Aug, Southwark Teenage Poetry Slam are seeking two judges to be a part of a panel judging a poetry competition aimed at people aged 11 – 16 years.
If you’re an “experienced spoken word artist” aged between 17 and 25 get in touch: elaine.walters@southwark.gov.uk / labalaba1@hotmail.co.uk
Wander down to the Barbican this Friday, and you might just find yourself at the poetry gig of the season. Anyone who was lucky enough to see some of the Barbican Young Poets perform at Urban Me last month will know what I’m talking about. Since March, these 14-20 year old wordsmiths have been taking over an unsuspecting workshop room in the Barbican’s inner labyrinth every other Wednesday, to think, breathe and write poetry with the Foundry’s own Jacob Sam-La Rose. This will be their first performance at the Barbican, and if it’s anything like the rehearsal you can expect a level of warmth, honesty and energy that stays with you long after all the lines are spoken.
Come down to the Pit Theatre at 6pm tomorrow and see for yourselves…Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS. Nearest tubes: Moorgate, Barbican, Liverpool Street.
The Southbank has become a bit of a hotbed of opportunity for young people of late. They’re currently looking for creative, imaginative and committed young people between the ages of 16-22 to be part of London Literature Festival 2009.
If you’re interested, and selected, you’ll be part of a team of young people that will be supported through “a series of creative master classes to develop skills as event producers and curators. Exploring the theme of escape and its destinations, the team will be collaborating with Southbank Centre staff, artists in residence and associates to develop, design and deliver an exciting event featuring spoken word, music and visual art.”
Be sharp about it– the recruitment day is listed as May 23rd. More info here.
Popshot’s back and looking for poems for the second issue. Described as a bi-annual poetry & illustration magazine that “aims to bring poetry to a wider audience and attempt to steal it back from school anthologies and funeral readings,” the second issue is open to submissions of poems around the theme of ‘Us and Them.’ Submission details state:
- We look for poems with originality.
- We don’t want carbon copies of poetry classics.
- Write honestly and write what you’re proud of.
- Poems with a focus on rhythm, repetition and pattern are preferred although this definitely doesn’t mean obscure free verse is overlooked.
- Poems must be your own work, no longer than 25 lines and written to the theme.
- There is no minimum or maximum amount of entries per person.
Don’t forget include a paragraph or two about who you are and a short explanation of the poem itself, why you came to write it and what it means to you.
And the deadline, I hear you ask? July 31st. Plenty of time to pen a masterpiece.
Want to catch some fresh poetics from hot, young wordsmiths? Urban Me is an exhibition of contemporary visual arts, photography and spoken word dedicated to inner city life. The exhibition started last Friday, and featured performances from a selection of poets that I’ve worked with over the past few years, including Rosie Knight and Yinka Adelakun.
Sunday the 3rd of May sees the end of the exhibition and a larger slice of spoken word to celebrate. We’ll be claiming our corner of the city in the basement of the Bodhi Bar/Gallery, 214 Brick Lane London E1 6SA from 4.30pm. So when you’re done lazing around in Spitalfields market, wander on down…
Eastside Educational Trust is creating a series of films showcasing the talents of London’s young filmmakers and spoken word artists. Spoken word artists and filmmakers will team up to put visuals to words and create one minute films, the best of which will be showcased on Eastside’s new website. These films will be sent to Seattle based youth media company Reel Grrls and their youth production team will vote on a favourite which will be broadcast on their magazine programme in summer 2009.
Eastside is inviting submissions by young writers, poets, spoken word artists of work to inspire the work of young filmmakers. Writers will join a team of filmmakers to create a film to showcase their writing. Writers will be involved in the filmmaking process.
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