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.
The Awards will also run in conjunction with the New Zealand Post National Schools Writing Festival. Run by the International Institute of Modern Letters, the Festival offers a unique opportunity for emerging young poets, prose and scriptwriters to come together from around New Zealand for a weekend of workshops and seminars.
Participation is free and open to all, but spaces are limited.
Chloë Nannestad of Epsom Girls Grammar and Shannyn Boyd of Hutt Valley High School were last year’s Award winners. Shannyn’s poem was turned into a song by Black Seeds musician Barnaby Weir.
Entry forms can be downloaded from www.nzpost.co.nz/poetryawards. The deadline for submissions is June 3. The Awards are open to Year 12 and 13 students.
The New Zealand Post National Schools Poetry Awards are supported by Tearaway Magazine, the New Zealand Book Council, Booksellers New Zealand, the New Zealand Society of Authors, and literary magazines Sport and Landfall.
For more information contact;
Fiona Mayo New Zealand Post
Ph: (04) 496 4566
Cell: 027 453 9882
Email: fiona.mayo@nzpost.co.nz
Rire Norman Loop Media Ltd
Ph: (09) 360 7055
Cell: 021 281 0021
Email: rire@loop.co.nz
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.
The Awards will also run in conjunction with the New Zealand Post National Schools Writing Festival. Run by the International Institute of Modern Letters, the Festival offers a unique opportunity for emerging young poets, prose and scriptwriters to come together from around New Zealand for a weekend of workshops and seminars.
Participation is free and open to all, but spaces are limited.
Chloë Nannestad of Epsom Girls Grammar and Shannyn Boyd of Hutt Valley High School were last year’s Award winners. Shannyn’s poem was turned into a song by Black Seeds musician Barnaby Weir.
Entry forms can be downloaded from www.nzpost.co.nz/poetryawards. The deadline for submissions is June 3. The Awards are open to Year 12 and 13 students.
The New Zealand Post National Schools Poetry Awards are supported by Tearaway Magazine, the New Zealand Book Council, Booksellers New Zealand, the New Zealand Society of Authors, and literary magazines Sport and Landfall.
For more information contact;
Fiona Mayo New Zealand Post
Ph: (04) 496 4566
Cell: 027 453 9882
Email: fiona.mayo@nzpost.co.nz
Rire Norman Loop Media Ltd
Ph: (09) 360 7055
Cell: 021 281 0021
Email: rire@loop.co.nz
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