Poetry Together held its live poetry event at Sancton Wood School in Cambridge, and some winning poets are appearing on national TV
At the 2022 Poetry Together event on 1st November, aspiring poets old and young competed at Sancton Wood School in Cambridge in front of illustrious judges Gyles Brandreth, Waterstone Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and poet and author Lucy Cuthew.
The pupils from junior and senior schools, as well as senior citizens, were the selected finalists in this latest initiative from Poetry Together, the charity founded by Gyles Brandreth that aims to bring the young and old together through the joy of performing poetry by heart.
This year’s competition invited students and older adults to write their own short poem on the theme of Laughter & Tears. More than 500 submissions were received from across the UK. Shortlisted entrants travelled to Sancton Wood School to perform their poems aloud in front of the judging panel. A number of local Cambridge schools and proud grandparents attended the event, too, and everyone who came enjoyed poetry workshops with both Lucy Cuthew and Joseph Coelho.
Poetry Together winners
Juniors: Benjamin Andrews, aged 10, Gift Wrap at Christmas; Georgina Wall, aged 11, A Poppy Field.
Seniors: Isabella Davison, aged 13, That Sickening Feeling; Kherlen Ho, aged 12, Stories with Youthful Boys.
Senior Citizens: Linda Woolfson, aged 80, The Whole Family are Coming.
As well as receiving their prizes at Sancton Wood, some winners are sharing their poems with the nation on ITV’s This Morning on Friday 11th November.
The event is wholly supported by Dukes Education and this is its third year. High-profile supporters of the initiative who have attended past events have included Camilla, Queen consort, known for her love of reading and her longstanding support of literacy initiatives.
The founder of Poetry Together Gyles Brandreth says of this year’s event: “What an amazing day! Young people and older people getting together to share the poems they had written themselves. The standard was so high. All the poems were special. Some made us laugh. Some made us cry. Some did both. You can see some of our winners on This Morning on 11 November. Thanks to Sancton Wood School for hosting such a memorable day and thanks to Dukes Education for helping to make it all happen”.
Dukes Education and Poetry Together dukeseducation.com
Further reading: Drama Escape – Trinity Theatre and the Speech Bubbles programme
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