A poetry competition - wanna have some fun?

Western Bay of Plenty Playcentre Association

National Children’s Poetry Competition 2013

1^st of April to the 31^st of May 2013.  And we’re inviting you to give it a go!

What makes us special?

Is ‘the No. 8 wire’ and ‘do-it-yourself spirit’ still alive and kicking and what kind of funny are we?  How can we give our children a sense of who they are and their place in the world as globalisation washes over our not-so-isolated shores? 

Are we really as dark as some of our some storytellers describe us and what part does our unique and beautiful environment play in how we define ourselves?

The Treaty of Waitangi, biculturalism and the Pacific Ocean adds another thread woven into our psyche. Auckland is not only our largest city but also the largest Polynesian city in the world.

 

These are questions that the Western Bay of Plenty Playcentre Association wants to explore through its first National Children’s Poetry Competition.  We’re seeking poems that explore word play and metrical beat, such as activity and counting poems, and especially poems with New Zealand content.  Most of all we want poems that are fun to read aloud and listen to.  WBOP Playcentre Association is running this competition from the 1^st of April to the 31^st of May 2013.  And we’re inviting you to give it a go!

Our competition judge is local poet and performer Marcel Currin, known for his own brand of funny, whose writing has been published in New Zealand magazines, literary journals and anthologies.

Marcel will be supported in this process by local storyteller Tommy ‘Kapai’ Wilson as we’re accepting poems in Te Reo and English, or a blend of both. Tommy Kapai works with and for children, and was the initiator of the Kapai series that includes Kapai the Kiwi and Kapai's Thermal Adventure. Since then he’s given us the Cuzzies series and the adventures of Scoop and Scribe.

For centuries writers have used rhythm and rhyme to create poems that both stimulate and please the minds of the young. Reading together is a well-known and effective means of introducing children to words and the world, and fosters closer relationships with parents and caregivers.

We want to produce books of children’s poetry that reflect what’s unique about us, our particular brand of fun; that celebrate families growing together. We’ll do this by publishing the fifteen winning poems from adult and secondary school writers decorated with artwork from our thirteen Playcentres within the Western Bay of Plenty.

For details on how to enter visit www.bayplay.org.nz

or email Kaye Hubner at president@bayplay.org.nz.