Calling all young poets in Stone! Budding bards from across the county are being invited to put pen to paper for a new poetry competition.
However, they need to get their skates on and submit their entries before the deadline, as the closing date is Wednesday 10th February.
Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire’s Young Poet Laureate, 14-year-old Endon High School student Matilda Houston-Brown, has organised the competition in partnership with Staffordshire Libraries, Staffordshire County Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Poetry on Loan.
Matilda, who took over as Young Poet Laureate in October, is required, as part of her role, to boost an appreciation of poetry amongst young people; so she came up with the idea of Young Staffordshire Stanza, a county-wide poetry competition for 11 to 16 year olds.
[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]Matilda said: “The idea behind the competition is to reach out to schools, local libraries, youth groups, and encourage other young people to think about writing poetry. I’m inviting young poets across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire to create your best, original poem (that has not been previously published) on any subject of your choice and send it along. I can’t wait to see how many talented young poets are out there, just waiting for a chance to shine.”[/box]
Matilda has posted a poetry performance on You Tube “Words – a Poem about Language” to inspire fellow poets to take part…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2hA0k3SL-8
The competition culminates in a live final at Endon High School on Wednesday 2nd March, the eve of World Book Day, when the finalists will be invited to perform their compositions in front of an audience and panel of judges. After the live performances, the winning young poet will be awarded with their certificate and prize.
[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]Staffordshire’s lead for Learning and Skills, County Councillor Ben Adams, said: “Matilda is a very talented young writer and I’m sure this competition will inspire young people across the county to get in touch with their inner poet and start writing.”[/box]
[box type=”info” align=”aligncenter” ]Full details of the competition can be found at www.stanza.matildavoice.com[/box]
