Students to compete in national poetry recitation contest at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery
Students from five Shropshire schools and colleges will gather at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery this Friday (6 February 2015) at 6.30pm to compete for a place in the national final of ‘Poetry By Heart’ – a prestigious poetry recitation competition for students aged 14 to 18.
Schools and colleges all over Shropshire have held Poetry By Heart contests and those competing in this week’s Shropshire regional final are Meole Brace School & Science College, Thomas Telford School, Concorde College, Moreton Hall School and Newport Girls’ High School.
Students will recite a poem from a specially commissioned online anthology of poetry about the First World War, created earlier this year to commemorate the centenary. Visitors are invited to attend to show their support for the students, and to hear the competitors recite.
The winner of the Shropshire regional final will go through to the national finals, which are held from 19 to 21 March at Homerton College, Cambridge.
Launched by Sir Andrew Motion in December 2012 as a pioneering initiative of the Poetry Archive (www.poetryarchive.org), the competition is now in its successful third year.
The Shropshire regional final is supported by Wenlock Poetry Festival, who have provided three experienced judges: Anna Dreda (festival founder and owner of the award winning Wenlock Books); Steve Harrison (winner of the Ledbury Poetry Slam 2014), and poet and children’s writer Jean Atkins.
Tina Woodward, Shropshire Council’s deputy Cabinet member responsible for the museum service, said:
“I’m delighted that this year’s Shropshire final will be held at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery. I congratulate the schools and students that have reached this regional final, and wish all the competing students every success.”
To find out more visit the website: poetrybyheart.org.uk, email info@poetrybyheart.org.uk or phone 0117 9055338.
To find out more about Wenlock Poetry Festival www.wenlockpoetryfestival.org.
Contact 01743 258884/258888 for further details and to book, or email museumeducation@shropshire.gov.uk.
