On Tuesday 1 November 2022, Wolverhampton Literature Festival opens its poetry competition to poets from across the globe for the sixth consecutive year.
The competition this year is an ‘open’ which means that entrants may send poems on any subject matter they choose. Surprise, enthral and astound – but entries need to be in before December 31!
Poems will be read and winners chosen by Jane Commane, director and editor at Nine Arches Press, co-editor of Under the Radar magazine and co-author (with Jo Bell) of How to Be a Poet. Her debut poetry collection, ‘Assembly Lines’ (Bloodaxe, 2018) was longlisted for the 2019 Michael Murphy Memorial Prize. Her poetry has featured in ‘Staying Human’ (Bloodaxe) and in ‘The Guardian’, ‘Butcher’s Dog’ and ‘Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal’. She is a Writing West Midlands’ Room 204 writer, and in 2017 was awarded a Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship.
Councillor Stephen Simkins, Cabinet Member for City Economy said:
‘It is fantastic that the festival is returning again in 2023, and we are hoping to announce participants very soon. This competition is chance for poets from all over the globe to get involved and I am excited to see the entries we have.’
Jane Commane added:
“I am so pleased to be the judge for this competition – what am I seeking? The obvious thing is to say firstly: send me your best poems. Secondly – and perhaps conversely – don’t try too much to pre-judge to much what you think I may like or want to read.
“The poems that stand out are always the ones we didn’t quite know we’d be expecting, that pull the rug from under our feet or have a discrete habit of revealing something to us like a friend in confidence. Pay attention to detail, and think about how images, sensory aspects and physicality or even dialogue and voice may have a place in your poem. Be bold. I look forward to reading them.”
Information on how to submit your entry along with the competition’s rules is at www.pandemonialists.co.uk/wolves-lit-fest-poetry-competition-2023/
Wolverhampton Literature Festival takes place Friday 3 until Sunday 5 February 2023 - announcement coming soon. For more information, visit www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk/
