They say that poetry is the art of making every word count, which is why anyone who even attempts to write poetry should be highly commended!
Many pupils at Washington Academy (part of Consilium Academies) certainly gave it their best shot in line with the school’s recent poetry competition.
Before we announce the winners of the contest – which was held to mark World Poetry Day last month – we want to say a huge ‘well done’ to everyone who participated.
Choosing winners proved difficult
In total, the competition had a whopping 227 entries, with some students submitting more than one poem. Understandably, this gave judge Caitlin Kendall a difficult job in selecting the winners.
Caitlin is a professional poet who ran poetry workshops at Washington Academy earlier this year as part of her role as the school’s poet-in-residence. She said she knew the standard of the Washington students’ poems would be high and that choosing three overall winners would be difficult.
After careful consideration, Caitlin chose ‘The Graveyard’ by Beth M as the winning poem. Caitlin described it as “a neatly formed tidy poem that has strong imagery and evokes visceral feeling in just a few short lines”.
Imagery, language and emotions were considered
In second place was ‘NE Be Free’ by Zak R, which Caitlin said has “great imagery – so clever, could be Dickensian Britain, could be now. The poem has a good use of rhyme and a strong political message.”
When praising Evan C’s third place poem titled ‘The Teacher’, the professional poet said: “I love the use of the sonnet form to subvert our expectations of love poetry – that a teacher nagging a student about their homework is a form of love,.”
The competition saw two other students highly commended: Lucie D for her reinterpretation of the Romeo and Juliet story and her use of language, and Antonia T for her “gorgeous use of language and pastoral imagery”.
The fantastic response from pupils to the poetry competition comes as the school is hoping to have a student poet-in-residence, as well as a community one. The school is also working on a poetry book which is to be published alongside Sunderland Literacy Aid.
Victoria Carter, Head Teacher at Washington Academy said: “I am very proud of the way the students at Washington Academy have embraced this poetry competition.
“To have so many entries is testament to the creative writing skills of our students and we are delighted to see so many students are already signed up for the poetry workshops next year.
“We are very grateful to Caitlin for working with us and for inspiring a new generation of poets at our school.”
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “”Congratulations to not only the winners of the poetry competition, but also to all those that stepped forward to take on the challenge.
“Each poem proved the power of words and the beauty of expression, and you’ve no doubt inspired not only your peers, but everybody in your school and beyond.”
*The Winning Poem* The Graveyard by Beth M
I have never felt depressed, but I have felt alone. Sitting alone
and not wanting to go home. I can’t leave.
I am never near the dead, yet I am always six feet above their
heads. Seeing flowers, stones and presents, I think about the
things we used to do together.
I haven’t heard the silence, but I have listened to the wind
Blowing the trees side to side.
I have never touched a dead person’s hand, yet I held my
Grandma’s as she took her last breath.
Oh I hope we see each other again.
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