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Last day to enter the Write Out Loud WoLF poetry competition!

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Write Out Loud is proud to announce that we have once again been chosen to organise the Wolverhampton Literature Festival (WoLF) poetry competition, and build upon the success of last year.  The competition opens to entries on November 1st, and runs through till the last minutes of 2018, giving you all plenty of time to seek inspiration and submit poems on this year’s theme of ‘wanderer’. Use this as a prompt to explore the theme of travel, contemplation, or the city's football team's proud history – or something else entirely – whichever you wish, and whatever inspires you!

Our judge is celebrated West Midlands poet Roy McFarlane (pictured), the winning poet will receive a £400 prize and the opportunity to read some of their work at WoLF, which runs over the weekend of 1st-3rd February, 2019.  There are also runner-up prizes to be won.

Roy McFarlane was born in Birmingham of Jamaican parentage and spent most of his years living in Wolverhampton and the surrounding Black Country. He has held the role of Birmingham’s Poet Laureate, Starbuck Poet in Residence and presently the Birmingham & Midland Institute Poet in Residence:

“As a local poet from the Black Country it’s a pleasure to be judging the 2nd WoLF poetry competition. I’m looking forward to reading poems that sing out loud, that whisper with intensity, that colour the air with a thousand ideas but most importantly are lovingly, caringly put together.  Poems that rhyme, poems that are free, poems that take us on journeys across time and space, poems that have the unique stamp of the poet's voice. So go searching for those poems that write themselves, or catch you unaware with their internal magic. Or find that phrase or line, the half-completed poem hidden in a drawer or note book and go for it.”

Roy’s poems have appeared in anthologies; Filigree (Peepal Trees 2018), It All Radiates Outwards (Verve Poetry Press 2018), Disonance (Hesterglock Press 2017), Somewhere to keep the rain (Winchester Poetry Festival 2017), Out of Bounds (Bloodaxe 2012),
His previous publications includes Celebrate Wha? (Smokestack Books 2011) and Beginning With Your Last Breath (Nine Arches Press 2016). Roy’s latest collection The Healing Next Time is available from Nine Arches Press and he’s also completed his MA in Writing Poetry from The Poetry School and Newcastle University.

All the information about the competition, as well as the rules and how to submit your poems, can be found here.

 

We wish you every success with your writing!

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Comments

Big Sal

Sun 30th Dec 2018 16:21

Finally got around to doing this. Hope others don't have to follow suit and don't treat it like Christmas shopping like I did and do it last minute.?

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steve pottinger

Sun 30th Dec 2018 15:39

You've just over 24 hours left to get those entries in, people! ?

Big Sal

Tue 30th Oct 2018 11:50

I'll see you all on the ballot.?

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