Some Sort of Joy: Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award Winners Anthology 2021 by The Poetry Society

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Anthology

“Poetry is such an accessible form and can manifest itself in so many interesting ways and Foyle Young Poets of the Year is a celebration of that diversity, which I am really honoured to be a part of.” – Ahana Banerji, winner, Foyle Young Poets of the Year 2021

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Anthology The Poetry Society 22 Betterton Street, London WC2H 9BX, UK www.poetrysociety.org.uk ISBN: 978-1-911046-35-6. Cover: James Brown, jamesbrown.info © The Poetry Society & authors, 2022 The title of this anthology, Some Sort of Joy, is from Alex Dunton’s poem ‘Teeth’, see page 12. This anthology and our entry forms are available in a range of accessible formats. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at fyp@poetrysociety.org.uk

Some Sort of Joy Poems by the Foyle Young Poets of the Year 2021

Acknowledgements The Poetry Society is deeply grateful for the funding and commitment of the Foyle Foundation, and to Arts Council England for its ongoing support. We thank Bloodaxe, Carcanet, Clinic, The Emma Press, Faber, Forward, Ignition Press, InPress, Nine Arches, Out-Spoken, Picador, Poems on the Underground, tall-lighthouse, Tangerine Press, Two Rivers and Valley Press for providing winners’ prizes for the 2021 award. Thanks to Thom Kofoed for his beautiful design bringing together images from all of this year’s one hundred winning poems, and to Chris Riddell for his illustrations of the winners. We send very best wishes to judges Clare Pollard and Yomi S·ode for their commitment, passion and support for the 2021 competition and The Poetry Society. Thanks to the dedicated team who helped the judging process: Helen Bowell, Ella Duffy, Keith Jarrett, Rachel Long, Gazelle Mba, Rachel Piercey, Joshua Seigal, Phoebe Stuckes and Phoebe Thomson. We are very grateful to Arlo Parks and Ben Bailey Smith, the 2021 award Patrons, for promoting the competition with such enthusiasm. We thank Arvon for hosting the Foyle Young Poets’ residencies and our co-tutor Arji Manuelpillai, Marcus Stanton Communications for raising awareness of the competition, and our network of educators and poets for helping us to inspire so many young writers. Thanks to James Brown for designing our wonderful anthology cover. Finally, we applaud the enthusiasm and dedication of the young people and teachers who make the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award such a success. In 2022, we welcome Mona Arshi and Anthony Anaxagorou as our judges, and look forward to finding new voices and welcoming a new community of young people into poetry with them. foyleyoungpoets.org

Contents Introduction Ran Zhao Ahana Banerji Jenna Hunt Anja Livesey Alex Dunton Daniel Wale chenrui Lulu Marken Giovanni Rose Hollie Fovargue Sarisha Mehta Briancia Mullings Evie Alam Erin Hateley Dhruti Halambi

4 Get Up, We’re Going Home A Difficult Conversation No More Tests One Day Teeth Daisy Chains Ching Chang Chong Dragons’ Tails Welcome to Tottenham Dust Blue Extinction Queen’s Speech Every Day Poem #23 The 99%

List of winners and commendations The Poetry Society The Foyle Foundation Foyle Patrons What next? Young writers and The Poetry Society Schools and The Poetry Society Enter the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2022

7 8 9 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Introduction The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award works to find, celebrate and support the very best young poets from around the world since 1998. Founded and run by The Poetry Society, the award has been supported by the Foyle Foundation since 2001, and is the biggest competition for young poets aged between 11 and 17 years. Each year, we receive thousands of poems from the UK and around the world. In 2021, 6,775 writers from 109 different countries entered the competition from as far afield as South Africa, China, Ethiopia and Georgia, as well as the four corners of the UK. From these young poets our judges choose 100 winners: 15 top poets and 85 commended poets. Last year, the competition was judged by Clare Pollard and Yomi S·ode, who picked from over 14,000 entries. They said: Judging this year’s Foyle Young Poets of the Year was an absolute honour. After a period in which the burdens of the pandemic have often fallen so heavily on young people, we were moved by the beauty, fire and resilience of these poems. These poets write out of diverse backgrounds, landscapes and experiences, and this has translated into a rich variety of form and language. Here are poems about youth, gender, poverty, love, struggle, politics, culture, family. Poems brimming with rightful anger and hard-won hope. We are humbled to welcome all those who participated this year into the community of poets, and know that the voices of the winners will ring out, clear and urgent, over the coming years.

For 2022’s award, all 100 winners of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award will receive a range of brilliant prizes, including a year’s youth membership of The Poetry Society and a goody bag stuffed full of books donated by our generous supporters. The top 15 poets will take part in a sustained mentoring programme over the course of the year. The Poetry Society will continue to support each winner throughout their careers, providing publication, performance and development opportunities, and access to a paid internship programme. To aid in helping as many young people as possible enter the award, we have set up a range of initiatives to encourage and enable writers, in school and independently. We are distributing free teaching resources to every secondary school in the UK, and are sharing tips from talented teachers and arranging poet-led workshops. This year will undoubtedly be another full of surprise and strangeness, but even in the great changes of the recent past, we continue to be struck by how privileged we are that the next generation of poets are eager to create poems which offer space for reflection, humour and hope. We hope that this anthology, featuring poems by 2021’s top 15 winners, will inspire even more young writers to enter the competition.

Our thanks to all of the publishers and arts organisations that donated prizes for our winners.

Ran Zhao Get Up, We’re Going Home who told you to go crouch at the edge of the storm drain the whole night, feed handfuls of yourself to the rainwater? you’ve got a cold now, and your clothes are drenched from last night’s storm, and i have to climb down there and crawl in the mud after the bullfrogs, reach into each of their pale glowing moon‐bellies and draw out the little giblets of your heart. come on, let me dry you off. let me walk you home in this red rain jacket i brought when i went looking for you at dawn. next time you’re on your own, okay? you know the rain is just water. it has no secrets to give.

Ahana Banerji A Difficult Conversation Ma says she has bigger fish to fry. Disregarding sprats, the white fish, she hoists up an ilish mach about the length of her forearm. I watch her accept it with her knife, oil puckering in the saucepan, anticipating skirts of damp coriander, a fat chalk of canned coconut milk. There is a tenderness to the beheading. Ma cradles ilish jaw like a son‐in‐law, an absence dislocating bone and lip and eye as I am told to leave or to learn how to hold a heart for the time it takes bigger fish to fry.

Jenna Hunt No More Tests January they told us it was just a few tests, Probably nothing to worry about, they said. February they were concerned, Something wasn’t right, they said. We don’t know yet, Just a few more tests. March we feared the worse, As we heard the news from the nurse. We’ll try our best to help, they said. April we had hope, treatments went well. It might be successful, they said. Only time will tell. May we sat in tears, it was terminal, they said. There’s nothing we can do, We’re sorry, they said. June we spent together, Our mood was sad and gloomy, Like the dark cloud that had encapsulated Our family. Not long now, they said. July we said goodbye, They’re gone, they said. We wept. No more tests.

Content w arning: self harm

Anja Livesey One Day One day I woke up Thinking maybe I’ll be a writer And it never really went away One day I woke up And thought maybe I’ll be a singer That never really went away One day I woke up Thought I’d fall in love with a friend Try my hand at being gay That never really went away One day I woke up And I fell back asleep And that never really went away One day In 2017 I woke up And became a poet Lapsed, perhaps But a poet nonetheless What a reoccurring nightmare That turned out to be But still it never really went away

One day Was awful And I didn’t sleep So cut myself up And the scars shine on my skin now Papery thin, metallic Tin‐foil, machine‐like It’s horrifying how humanly It rips Though. And that never really went away I’ll keep waking up Each morning And that’ll never really go away.

Content w arning: self harm

Alex Dunton Teeth

Two crooked teeth crossing over making pinkie promises That’s what we are We sanded down each other’s fangs to hide the evidence of the scars Your hands in my sick mouth Mine in yours In sickness and in health we crawl down each other’s throats Marriage is a sham tied with your sister’s stolen rings and a text posted from our too short childhood Scribbled on Doc Martens and untied Converse making footprints along our necks One day we will shave off those scraggly hairs at the nape of your neck But today I do it for you watch my hair swirl in the sink The yells are less bad knowing they aren’t for you One day they will be though – that brings me some sort of joy An amalgamation of joy at least The draw of a cigarette smooshed into a childhood toy I never wanted Next to yesterday’s stolen beer can – don’t worry they didn’t see it yet They never do Neither do you – but you know and that’s enough Two crooked teeth shivering in the mask of a hug Two urns filled with the dust of our baby teeth Patroclus and Achilles – with chewed hoodie strings and train track braces I never knew you when you had preschool bleeding gums But I know you now Dying slowly with you Breaths mingling on your rooftop graveyard

You hate mint – I threw the Polos to the ground my breath smells like death now – ironic There’s blood in my mouth now and words stuck in yours As we rip up the dresses of the storybook girls And suck the rain out of the sky that hangs on hunched backs The marks of netball trainers and hockey sticks beat us down But – I grab your pinkie in the rain It’s not enough for me or you But we can ignore our swallowed teeth for now Wipe the trickling blood with our embrace Pinkies in the place of teeth A casual breakdown crossing the lines of lineage You and me – Two crooked teeth crossing over making pinkie promises.

Daniel Wale Daisy Chains They never took long to make, nor did they lack that tender sloppiness which made the petals melt pink in the palms, like juiced hearts. These were when we ran our fingers through the wilting stems; supposed they were her hair or her hands. These were when we laboured those shy hours away in a shivering line of blushes, making a short‐lived toy of short‐lived love.

chenrui Ching Chang Chong I mean, I don’t blame them. I mean, language Has its limits, right? I mean, how could they Ever say the silent swishing ‘x’ of Xuě, as in blood, or, with an upward lilt, Xué, to learn? I mean, how would they ever Know what it means not to know, but to see A rat come to life in ink and bones, bent Back and pointed nose, in ten brushstrokes? I mean, what’s lost in translation can’t be Found. I mean, their skies don’t rest on Pán Gǔ and the four legs of a giant turtle. I mean, their rivers don’t flow with blinding Yellow fury. I mean, their walls are only Metres high, that fortify against ignorance. I mean, they don’t know what they’re saying, Much less how to say it. I mean, It’s hard to say what I mean, If you know what I mean.

Lulu Marken Dragons’ Tails Limescale curling around a plug hole as a dragon’s tail. I washed underwear, colour of Virginian red clay mines In the same sink That I spat toothpaste in at five years old. Nimbostratic rusted water, hemmed with soap scum, The kind of water you could drown in – as your mother is settled by the stove searing onions in oil – Without ever being killed.

Giovanni Rose Welcome to Tottenham Welcome to Tottenham. Where we wake up to the smell of ‘Chick king’, Mixed with the odour of the corpse from the night before. Where we cover our blood stained streets with dried up gum, Where kids have holes in their last pairs of shoes, Where daddy left mummy and mummy’s left poor. Welcome to Tottenham. Where if you look like me then it’s harder for you, Where everybody’s equal unless they’re darker than you. Where the police see colour before they see the crime, Where children get stopped and searched and aren’t allowed to ask why. Welcome to Tottenham. Where the drug addicts sit at the back of the 149. Where education and sports are the only ways to shine. Where we ride around on stolen scooters, Where we can’t afford tuition so the streets are our tutors. Welcome to Tottenham. I love but I hate my home, I still listen to the voicemails of my dead peers in my phone, I live in a nightmare. I had to learn how to dream, I’m afraid to open up because you won’t survive if you’re weak. Welcome to Tottenham. The devil’s playground. We fight over streets we don’t own, Knife crime’s on the rise because the beef can’t be left alone. Why does no one understand that we just want our youth clubs back, Why do they claim they’re not racist but label the violence here black? Welcome to Tottenham

Hollie Fovargue Dust To be in the dark is To move without order And perhaps even contentment In the knowledge that one can scream And not be heard Or seen. Plain to you, plain to me One cannot complain. One was not there, One was not seen. Next time, next time... Perhaps next time One will be seen. Like ash after the fire has burned Like salt once the water is parched Particles that dance With grace or none, Always unseen Until, Just like dust in a spotlight, I begin to gleam.

Sarisha Mehta Blue Extinction No more sky. No immense blanket for the wistful clouds, To peacefully rest and slumber in tranquillity, or to scream and cry in the blue sky. No more oceans. No fast flowing currents like a raging bull racing rapidly with mighty motions, All slick surfboards concealed away, quietly and without a whisper. No more blueberries. No explosive orbs of ecstasy, sweetly singing in your palette. Our blue fruit. Gone, but not devoured. Missing, but not consumed. No more bluebirds. No quaint choir to be heard and enjoyed in the dew‐dropped garden, No song of the morning, no murmur of the night, the silence of nature. No more hydrangeas. No breath‐taking heads held high in the garden, the glowing sapphire of the wild, To calm you, and I, down. No more sadness. No tearful or melancholy people, no tears, no frowns. Everyone blissful throughout, from dusk till dawn. No more Blue Planet. No future to long for, No you, and no I. Nothing.

Briancia Mullings Queen’s Speech It was mama who taught me, mi please and mi thank-yous, And small island who taught I my vowels Dem a call it colloquial, slang It’s my tongue But mi cyant speak like dem no more now “This is Queen’s Speech, England, Proper way and proper talk.” De right way, colonised way Deny your race like issa sport My “h’s”, my accent Were indigenous to mi throat Swallow down hard British water, till your “h’s” begin to float, Till you ah choke On the tip of your tongue, Wid vowels in de gaps of your teeth Dem a foreign, dem uncivilised Dem nah talk like ah we And in only three years Did dem manage to tame Mi wild native tongue Buried in de back of my brain

That jungle like roar, mi speech would pronounce Hibernates in de fluid of my cerebral doubt Whitewashed and white drowned Lungs filled wid invasion Puffing up my wind box to talk with occasion Queen’s Speech Most formal, and most eloquent a pitch. Buoyant fluid words that escape out just in to fit. Yet I progress to feel morbidly alone, England is not all just London, no Queen’s Speech fluid tone To evolve and to adapt to an international tongue. Just as I struggle wid both Mi cyant identify just wid one It was mama who taught mi how to switch on and off at my core So, mi used to speak wid Vincy dialect But I can’t speak like that anymore.

Content w arning: domestic violen and alcoho ce lism

Evie Alam Every Day Monday he loves me. Tuesday he hates me. Wednesday he hits me. Thursday he avoids me. Friday he disappears. Saturday he stumbles back. Sunday he’s sorry. Every day he drinks.

Content w arni contains str ng: ong language

Erin Hateley Poem #23

write a shitty poem because shitty poems are like letters left unsent in the back of the post office half-smoked cigarettes, a deflated rugby ball in the bushes behind the school field. shitty poems are like headphones but when only one ear is awake, warm bread instead of toast, cracked plastic cups at children’s parties that cry orange squash all over the floor and end up cutting someone’s lip. shitty poems are like me. shitty poems are like me when i’m barely awake shitty poems are like me when i haven’t eaten in days shitty poems are like me when my hair looks like a fucking troll doll shitty poems are like me when i’m face down on the floor and i haven’t moved in an hour shitty poems are like me and have been since forever because shitty poems are shitty but fucking hell, they’re alive and they’re so messy and so stupid and so cringy and so wonderfully, horrifically, fantastically shitty and so fucking beautiful.

Dhruti Halambi The 99% In a world with 8 billion human beings, some May say that only the elite 1% matter, All the rest, they say, are just crumbs That make up society. Those people are out of season... Everyone has a reason. Really minute or significantly colossal, it can Be just making someone smile, or Enhancing someone’s attitude, allowing them to take the extra mile, to being the Cause for change, for rearrange. At the end, it’s the 99% that Umpire, that save, that pave, that nominate, that Shape the way for everything that comes. The Elite 1% may live in the supreme situation, but It’s the 99% that really Appreciate life the way it is, with all the walls, it’s the 99% that Make all the small alterations, that in the Prolonged run, Add up to an unbiased, unprejudiced, fun Robust world, that we live in now. The 99%, no matter how ordinary their life may seem, are the Only reason a play can be performed, the only reason the 1% can be Famous, the only reason a day goes on.

The 99% percent Honestly matter more than the 1%: they are the people that undertake the liability of getting Earth to work, they are the people that make living even possible. 99% is a praise, an accolade, it’s not to be blamed, 99% is not something to be ashamed of, if you are part of the 99%, know that the world depends on you, you matter. %.

Foyle Young Poets of the Year 2021 Top 15 winners: Ahana Banerji • Alex Dunton • Anja Livesey • Briancia Mullings • chenrui • Daniel Wale • Dhruti Halambi • Erin Hateley • Evie Alam • Giovanni Rose • Hollie Fovargue • Jenna Hunt • Lulu Marken • Sarisha Mehta • Ran Zhao The commended poets: Abi Vance • Aditi Banerjee • Adrienne Knight • Alana Hussein • Alex Heather • Alex Sayette • Alexander Brown • Anandini Sengupta • Anna Heezen • Anna Jones • Aratrika Lahiri • Bea Unwin • Boudicca Eades • Caitlin Pyper • Dorothea Davies • Duaa Waseem • Ela Briant • Ela Rifat • Ella Quarmby • Elise Withey • Ellory Hogton • Ellyson Haynes • Emma Picolo • Eva Westenberger • Eve Hannon • Finn Parkinson • Freya Cook • Freya Leech • Freyja HarrisonWood • Grace Liu • Ingrid Fellah • Isabel Lyle • Ishani Pandey • Jacob Keneson • Jazmine Brett • Jess Sutton • Jessica Kim • Jilin Yan • Kirsten Allen • Kyo Lee • Lauren Lisk • Lillian Yanagimoto • Lin Zhao • Liv Goldreich • Liz Mbuthi • Logan Care • Maddie Stoll • Madeleine Whitmore • Madhu Kannan • Magenta Muir • Maille Hennessy • Manon Memmi Weir • Marlo Cowan • Megan Kidd • Meredith LeMaître Nugent • Merit Habib Matta • Miceala Morano • Milly Bell • Nicole Hur • Noah Emmens • Noah Jones • RJ Danvers • Reena Rajyaguru • Rena Su • Robin Cox • Rojay Peaches • Ruby Corrigan • Sarah Mohammed • Sasha Carter • Sia Shekhar • Sinéad O’Reilly • Síomha Gallagher Charlton • Sophie White • Stas Forte • Stefan Jinga • Syazwani Saifudin • Tane Kim • Tasmin Meek • Thomas Griffin • Tina Huang • William Goltz • Yong-Yu Huang • Yusra Motin • Zara Tosun • Zoë Legge Read the winning and commended poems online. The anthologies of winning and commended Foyle Young Poets of the Year 2021 are available at bit.ly/foyleyoungpoets

The Poetry Society The Poetry Society is the leading poetry organisation in the UK. For over 100 years we’ve been a lively and passionate source of energy and ideas, opening up and promoting poetry to an ever-growing community of people. We run acclaimed international poetry competitions for adults and young people and publish The Poetry Review, one of the most influential poetry magazines in the English-speaking world. With innovative education and commissioning programmes, and a packed calendar of performances and readings, The Poetry Society champions poetry for all ages. The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is at the core of The Poetry Society’s extensive education programme, and it plays an influential role in shaping contemporary British poetry. We’d like to congratulate all our former winners on their recent achievements. Here’s just a taste: Lauren Hollingsworth-Smith’s debut pamphlet Ugly Bird and Georgie Woodhead’s debut pamphlet Takeway will be published this year by The Poetry Business (Smith|Doorstop); Cia Mangat featured on Cerys Matthews’ album We Come From the Sun; Mukahang Limbu and Yasmin Inkersole were longlisted for the 2020 National Poetry Competition; Annie Fan’s debut pamphlet Woundsong has been published by Verve; Laura Potts was shortlisted for the Manchester Poetry Prize; A.K. Blakemore’s debut novel The Manningtree Witches (Granta, 2021) won the Desmond Elliott Prize 2021; Jade Cuttle is a winner of a Northern Debut Award for Poetry; Phoebe Walker and Dominic Hand won Eric Gregory Awards. poetrysociety.org.uk

The Foyle Foundation The Foyle Foundation is an independent grant making trust supporting UK charities which, since its formation in 2001, has become a major funder of the Arts and Learning. The Foyle Foundation has invested in the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award since 2001, one of its longest partnerships. During this time it has trebled its support and enabled the competition to develop and grow to become one of the premier literary awards in the country. foylefoundation.org.uk

Help young writers thrive The Poetry Society’s work with young people and schools across the UK changes the lives of readers, writers and performers of poetry, developing confidence and literacy skills, encouraging self-expression and opening up new life opportunities. Support us by donating at poetrysociety.org.uk/donate

Foyle Patrons This year we were pleased to collaborate with Arlo Parks and Ben Bailey Smith as Foyle Patrons. We are very grateful to Arlo and Ben for all their support with the award. A poet and musician from London, Arlo won the 2021 Mercury Prize for her debut album, Collapsed In Sunbeams, and Breakthrough Artist at the 2021 Brit Awards. Ben is a writer, actor, comedian and musician who began his career in rap, and has since gone on to star in Law and Order, The Inbetweeners, Miranda, Brief Encounters and more. His children’s books, I am Bear and Bear Moves, have been critically acclaimed. Arlo said: “It’s an honour to be a Patron for the Foyle Young Poets Award this year. Poetry for me was always a safe space with no rules where I could trust my intuition and describe the world through my singular lens. It’s often seen as an art form that is inaccessible or opaque and that’s why I’m so excited to be a part of these awards. These awards are an opportunity to bring young people to poetry, allowing them to flex their creative muscles and be completely themselves.” Ben expressed similar sentiments: “The first book of poetry I remember loving was Brian Patten’s Gargling with Jelly. I was about seven years old and I carried [it] everywhere, to the point that pages started to fall out. [...] It’s only now that I look back and think that was maybe the first time I grasped the understanding that words – simply organised in a funny, memorable way – could have profound power, could bring profound joy. Poetry has stayed with me ever since and now I write my own poems for children, not even for work but for fun! To be a patron of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is a true honour, and to help kids find inspiration and confidence in their own writing ability brings me huge satisfaction.” 29

What next? Young Poets Network is The Poetry Society’s online platform for young poets worldwide up to the age of 25. It’s for everyone interested in poets and poetry – whether you’ve just started out, or you’re a seasoned reader and writer. You’ll find features, challenges and competitions to inspire your own writing, as well as new writing from young poets, and advice and guidance from the rising and established stars of the poetry scene. Young Poets Network also offers a list of competitions, magazines and writing groups which particularly welcome young writers. This year, we’ve celebrated ten years of Young Poets Network, featuring some of the young writers who’ve risen through the Network, their poems and their top tips. We’ve also published articles about how to get a career in the arts, how to write a poet’s biography, your LGBTQ+ poet heroes and more. In our writing challenges, we’ve invited young people to collaborate with one another, translate poetry from an endangered language, and write about the body, popular culture and the climate. Each August, we ask four Foyle Young Poets to set and judge new writing challenges – so look out for these brilliant poets making their judging debuts! For updates about poets, poetry, competitions, events and more, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @youngpoetsnet and Instagram @thepoetrysociety youngpoetsnetwork.org.uk

Schools and The Poetry Society Foyle Award teaching resources, including lesson plans and online versions of the winning and commended Foyle Young Poets anthologies, are available on our website at poetrysociety.org.uk/fypresources Poetryclass lesson plans and activities, covering all Key Stages and exploring many themes and forms of poetry, are easy to search and free to download. Each resource has been created by our team of poeteducators and teachers, with hands-on experience of developing an enthusiasm for poetry in the classroom. Find Poetryclass on our dedicated site: resources.poetrysociety.org.uk Poets in Schools help develop an understanding of and enthusiasm for poetry across all Key Stages. Whether you are looking for a one-off workshop or a long-term residency, an INSET session for staff or a poetled assembly, The Poetry Society will find the right poet for you. Online and in-person options available. poetrysociety.org.uk/education School Membership connects your school with all that poetry has to offer. School members receive books, resources, posters, Poetry News and The Poetry Review (secondary only), as well as free access to our Poets in Schools service. poetrysociety.org.uk/membership Follow us on Twitter @PoetryEducation or sign up to our schools e-bulletin by emailing educationadmin@poetrysociety.org.uk

Enter the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2022 Judges: Anthony Anaxagorou and Mona Arshi Enter your poems – change your life! The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2022 is open to any writer aged 11 to 17 (inclusive) until the closing date of 31 July 2022. The competition is completely free to enter and poems can be on any theme or subject. Prizes include poetry goodies, mentoring, places on a week-long Arvon writing course, publication in a prestigious anthology, and much more. Winners also benefit from ongoing support and encouragement from The Poetry Society via publication, performance and internship opportunities. How to enter: please read the updated competition rules, published in full at foyleyoungpoets.org. You can send us your poems online through our website, or by post. If you are aged 11–12 you will need permission from a parent or guardian to enter. You can enter more than one poem, but please concentrate on drafting and redrafting your poems – quality is more important than quantity. Entries cannot be returned under any circumstances so please keep copies. For more information, visit the rules section at foyleyoungpoets.org School entries: teachers can enter sets of poems by post or online using our simple submission form. Every school that enters 25 students or more will receive a £50 discount on our Poets in Schools service. Want a FREE set of anthologies, resources and posters for your class? Email your name, address and request to fyp@poetrysociety.org.uk For full rules and instructions, visit foyleyoungpoets.org

Now YOU can be part of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award Send us your poems by 31 July 2022 and next year YOUR work could be read by thousands of people all over the world in an anthology like this one. Enter online for free at foyleyoungpoets.org Remember, you must be aged 11–17 years old on the closing date of 31 July 2022. Good luck – we can’t wait to read your poems!

“The voices of this year’s winners will ring out, clear and urgent, over the coming years.” – Clare Pollard and Yomi S·ode, Judges of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2021

foyleyoungpoets.org insert barcode here: ISBN 9781-911046-35-6