Budding Poets Of All Ages Put Pen To Paper For Buxton Competition
22 January 2008
Interior of the Dome at the Devonshire Campus, Buxton which will host the Buxton Poetry Competition.
I am sure it will continue to fire the imaginations of budding poets, right up to the deadline for submissions
”Professor David Gray, Dean of the University of Derby Buxton.
The challenge of creating timeless verse for the first Buxton Poetry Competition is attracting budding poets of all ages and from across the country.
Since the launch of the competition developed by the University of Derby Buxton and the Buxton Festival, on National Poetry Day in October 2007, it has received 60 entries from a wide range of sources.
Poems – directly on the theme of or inspired by Water – have been submitted by poets ranging from children to a 95-year-old Buxton resident. Entries have come from every corner of the UK.
The closing date for entries is April 1, 2008. Entry is free to poets under 19-years-old and many entries are expected from schools and young people.
The distinguished Patrons of the competition are Andrew Motion, the Poet Laureate, and Lady Jasmine Cavendish.
There are three competition categories:
- Open Poetry – for ages 19 and over
- Young People's Poetry – for those aged 12 to 18
- Children's Poetry – for young poets aged up to 11 years old.
For further details about entering the competition contact Liz Holland, Community Development Officer at the University of Derby Buxton, on 01332 594627 or email: l.holland@derby.ac.uk; or contact Claire Rhodes, Business Development Officer for the Buxton Festival, on 01298 70395 or email: claire@buxtonfestival.co.uk.
Five finalists from each of the three categories will be selected by a panel of judges. These include award-winning poet Fleur Adcock, recipient of an OBE in 1996 and the Queen's Medal for Poetry in 2006, and Michael Schmidt OBE, Professor of Poetry at the University of Glasgow and author of books on poetry.
The first three winners from each category will receive prizes including cash and book tokens. All five finalists from each of the three categories will have their work exhibited in the Dome at the Devonshire Campus, during this year’s Buxton Festival in July.
Finalists will also receive complimentary festival event tickets and be invited to a competition awards event at the Dome during the Buxton Festival, where the poet with the winning poem for each category will be invited to read their work before an invited audience.
The winning three poems will also appear in the 2008 Buxton Festival programme and the University’s Devonshire Echo newsletter.
The competition has generated great interest from literary circles, libraries and schools.
Buxton Festival Chief Executive Glyn Foley said: “We are delighted at the number of entries we have already received from across the country.
“We are also really pleased at the mix of people who are entering, from children to the over- 90s. We look forward to receiving many more entries before April.”
Professor David Gray, Dean of the University of Derby Buxton, added: "This competition is already proving a success, with around 60 entries from the UK and abroad coming from an incredibly wide age range.
"I am sure it will continue to fire the imaginations of budding poets, right up to the deadline for submissions."
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For further media information please contact Press and PR Officer Simon Butt on 01332 591891 or 07748 920023.
This press release by Press and PR Officer Sean Kirby on 01332 593004 or email s.kirby@derby.ac.uk.
