Poets Should Pop Poems In Post

Poets Should Pop Poems In Post

Aspiring young poets and lyric writers should put pen to paper for this year’s New Zealand Post National Schools Poetry Awards.

This year the Awards have expanded to include two prize categories, Best Poem and Best Lyric. Best Poem will be judged by accomplished New Zealand poet Paula Green, while Best Lyric will be judged by former Split Enz musician Mike Chunn and the Phoenix Foundation’s lead singer, Samuel Flynn Scott.

Samuel Flynn Scott will adapt the winning lyric into a song which Loop Media (New Zealand based independent music and media company) will record and release accompanied by a music video for television.

The winner of the Best Lyric category will also receive a $500 cash prize and the opportunity to spend time in a professional recording studio with the artist and sound engineer.

The Best Poem winner will receive a HP Pavillion dv2610TU notebook and a cash prize of $500. New Zealand Post chief executive John Allen says the new Awards structure is a
very exciting development.

“I do hope these Awards really get young people thinking about writing not just as a means of self expression but also as a way of earning a living and contributing to society.

“New Zealand Post is a committed supporter of literature, literacy and the arts in New Zealand and we are very pleased to be working with the International Institute of Modern Letters to bring about these Awards.”

Bill Manhire, poet and director of Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters, which runs the Awards, wants aspiring writers to experience the fun in creating poetry.

“Writing a poem is one of the great human experiences. It’s as if you are singing the whole universe into being.”

This years Awards also include a new teacher Award category to recognise the work teachers do in inspiring their students to take up writing. The winning teacher will receive a travel and accommodation package for a weekend at the Sydney Writer’s Festival 2009.

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