Young poets invited to find ‘voice’ via contest
By Brenda Harwood | Posted:
Young Dunedin poets are being invited to find their “voice” through the 2019 WriteNow secondary schools poetry competition.
Now in its sixth year, the poetry competition has grown in popularity among young people and schools, and now attracts more than 100 entries each year.
WriteNow entries are open from now until July 26 for the secondary schools poetry competition, co-founded by Dunedin author and poet Sue Wootton, and judged this year by award-winning author and poet Fiona Farrell.
While writing for the competition, the young poets were invited to consider the concept “let’s see what a poem can do”, Wootton said.
“Fiona loves the way poetry sharpens our senses and our wits.
“She is looking forward to reading the work of Dunedin’s young poets and intrigued to discover what that work will look like.”
The WriteNow poetry competition is open to pupils in years 9 to 13, and young poets can submit up to three original unpublished poems.
Wootton said the WriteNow competition was a “fantastic opportunity for the city’s young writers to test their poetic mettle”.
The competition was founded to provide a platform for a group of poets who were often overlooked, she said.
“There are so many more young poets, and indeed poets in general, than people think, and finding outlets for their work can be difficult.”
The quality of entries in the WriteNow competition was very high, and she was often “stunned by the eloquence” of the writing, Wootton said.
For competition details, judges reports and past winners’ poems, visit the website writenow.nz