News from Peterborough City Council

Peterborough City Council's library service begins the search for the next Poet Laureate to mark National Poetry Day on Thursday 9 October 2008.

 

Entrants must be aged 16 and over and live, work (including voluntary work) or study in Peterborough.  People are asked to submit no more than 30 lines of original poetry around the theme of 'Remembrance' and short-listed writers are invited to the final at 7pm on Monday 1 December 2008. Each poet will recite, read or perform their poem in front of a judging panel and audience. 

 

This year young writers will also be given the chance to shine in a bid to become Peterborough's first Youth Laureate with a similar competition aimed at 11 to 18 year-olds. The young people are being asked to write no more than 20 lines of original work based on Stand up to Hatred, the Holocaust Memorial Day theme for 2009.

 

Shortlisted entrants will be asked to be part of Peterborough's Holocaust Memorial Day civic commemoration on January 27 2009 and in libraries across the city during this period.  There will be a special performance workshop and the competition final will be at the John Clare Theatre in early February 2009. 

 

Gill Benedikz, Peterborough City Council's reading promotion and event co-ordinator at Central Library, said: "The competition  gives poets a fantastic opportunity to express themselves and this year younger writers will be given a chance to show what they can do with a strong theme, which will undoubtedly produce some powerful poetry. The Poet Laureate final evening is always great fun for the poetry community and their families and we are looking forward to meeting the entrants."

 

Entry forms are available from your local library or downloaded from the website www.peterborough.gov.uk from Thursday 9 October 2008.  Poems and completed entry forms should be sent to Gill Benedikz at Peterborough Central Library, Broadway, Peterborough, PE1 1RX. You can also email gill.benedikz@peterborough.gov.uk by 12 noon on Monday 17 November 2008 for the adult competition. Entries for the youth Laureate Competition should be in by Monday 8 December 2008.