John Betjeman Poetry Competition

[JBetjeman]

The John Betjeman Poetry Competition (www.betjemanpoetrycompetition.com) is open for entries from 10-13 year-olds until 31st July.

The John Betjeman Poetry Competition Charitable Trust seeks to foster a love of poetry in young people. It is our aim to support literacy and creativity, encouraging children aged 10-13 to explore the world they see around them through rhythm and language. The Patron of our trust is Joanna Lumley.

Each child is invited to send in (by post or online) one poem on the theme of place. They can choose anywhere that is important to them from their bedroom to somewhere they visited on holiday, from their favourite park to their favourite building. The subject of their poem could be a city or a garden or a beach or a street. We are asking them to capture in words what that place means to them.

Winners of the poetry competition are invited to read their poems aloud to an audience of judges, entrants, teachers and parents at a prize giving held on October 4th on the concourse of St Pancras station, next to the bronze statue of John Betjeman. The presentation of prizes will be followed by afternoon tea at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

The first prize is £1000. The winner, runner-up, and second runner-up will each win four standard class tickets from St Pancras International to Paris, Brussels or Lille. The top six entrants will win prizes of £50 book tokens.

The competition is free to enter. The judges are Brian Patten and Candida Crewe.

Entry forms at //www.betjemanpoetrycompetition.com.