Buxton Festival

Poets of all ages have the opportunity to take part in a major new literary competition – supported by the UK Poet Laureate Andrew Motion – which will give its winners the chance to read their work at the Buxton Festival and exhibited at the Devonshire Campus

Professor Motion and Lady Jasmine Cavendish, daughter of the Duke of Devonshire, are the patrons for the first Buxton Poetry Competition. Poems entered into it will be assessed by a panel of distinguished judges; including award-winning poet Fleur Adcock OBE and Michael Schmidt OBE, Professor of Poetry at the University of Glasgow and author of books on the subject.

The literary contest will be launched by the University of Derby, Buxton and Buxton Festival on National Poetry Day, Thursday October 4, where Derbyshire’s new Poet Laureate will also be formally announced. The launch, which is open to the public, will start at 4pm in the Dome of the Devonshire Campus, Buxton.

Poems entered into the competition will take as their theme ‘Water’, the importance and abundance of which has shaped Buxton’s development and which continues to play a major role in the town’s resurgence as a major tourist destination. The closing date for entries is April 1, 2008.

This major literary competition will be open to all ages nationwide, with the winners receiving cash prizes and an opportunity to read their work before an audience during the 2008 Buxton Festival.

The winning poems will also appear in the 2008 Buxton Festival programme, the University’s Devonshire Echo newsletter and will be exhibited at the Dome of the Devonshire Campus during the Buxton Festival (July 11 to 27, 2008). Winners will also receive complimentary event tickets.

There will be three competition categories:

Open Poetry – for ages 19 and over
Young People's Poetry – for young people aged 12 to 18
Children's Poetry – for young poets aged up to 11 years old.

Professor Motion, Poet Laureate, said: “The Buxton Poetry Competition is a valuable contribution to the literary life of the country, complementing the many good things already done by the Buxton Festival. I’m delighted to be associated with it.”

The University and the Buxton Festival welcomed his involvement as patron and that of the panel of judges.
Glyn Foley, Chief Executive of the Buxton Festival, said: “Our aim is to recognise and reward emerging talent and creativity as well as to provide an outlet for poetry during the Festival.

“The Festival’s star morning literary series goes from strength to strength each year, attracting many high calibre authors. We are pleased to give this exciting opportunity to established and budding poets, to showcase their work to our Festival audience during July next year.”

Professor David Gray, Dean of the University of Derby Buxton, added: “As a community university we are committed to promoting the arts ever more widely. “This new literary endeavour meets that aspiration admirably and we are delighted to be a partner in it.”

The format for poem entries to the competition is:

Poems must be the poet’s original work
They must be 40 lines long or less, typed on one side of A4 white paper and titled
The poet’s name must not appear on the poem, as judging will be done anonymously
No more than three poems can be submitted by one person
The judges’ decision will be final.

Receipt of entries can be confirmed if a stamped addressed envelope/ postcard is included with the entry form. The 15 poetry finalists will be informed on 1 June 2008.

For further details about entering the competition, to receive an application form or to register to attend the launch on October 4

Contact:

Email Liz Holland, Community Development Officer at the University of Derby Buxton, phone 01332 594627

Email Claire Rhodes, Business Development Officer for the Buxton Festival, phone 01298 70395

For further media information please contact University of Derby Press and PR Officer Simon Butt on 01332 591891 or 07748 920023.

Press release by University of Derby Press and PR Officer Sean Kirby on 01332 593004.