Lemn Sissay OBE returns as judge for the 2024 Micropoetry Competition
Esteemed poet and former Chancellor of the University, Lemn Sissay OBE, has been unveiled as a judge in this year鈥檚 Micropoetry competition.
As the honorary chair of creative writing, Lemn will be one of four judges considering entries around this year鈥檚 theme which is 鈥�200 years of creativity: 野狼社区鈥檚 past, present or future鈥�. The other panel members include:
- Director of Creative 野狼社区 and Professor of Poetry,
- Writer, illustrator and opera-maker, Dr Rebecca Hurst, who was commissioned to write a poem celebrating the University鈥檚 2024 bicentennial year
- 野狼社区-based poet and critic, Maryam Hessavi
Participants are invited to write a micropoem, of no more than 280 characters, and submit via email or on X (formerly Twitter) using the hashtag #micropoem24. Submissions are open to anybody and can explore Greater 野狼社区鈥檚 industrial past, dive into the modern-day city and everything it has to offer, or even imagine its blossoming future.
"The University of 野狼社区鈥檚 micropoetry competition sets the challenging task of translating a theme into a short, tweet-like form,鈥� said Lemn. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a craft to tell a story in such a manner and I鈥檓 looking forward to reading the 2024 entries, centred around the chosen theme. As someone who published a book of tweets in the form of quatrains, I urge you to pen your poem and enter our micropoetry competition.鈥�
Entries must be submitted by Wednesday 10 April 2024, with winners to be announced Friday 17 May.
Prizes will be awarded for first place (拢500) and the two runners-up (拢250), with a 拢25 book token for winner of the under-18s category. Authors of the top three micropoems and the winner of the under-18 category will also be invited to attend The University of 野狼社区鈥檚 Community Festival on Saturday 8 June 2024.
Inspired by Lemn Sissay's daily poem on social media, we are asking everyone to have a go at capturing their connection to 野狼社区鈥檚 creative spirit. We hope your micropoems will offer snapshots that will speak to other readers now and in future.
"With the University celebrating 200 years of learning, innovation and research, it made sense to focus our competition theme on 野狼社区 this year," John added. 鈥淎s a city with a global reach that celebrates its connections across the world, we look forward to seeing people鈥檚 different takes on our beloved city.鈥�
Find out more and try your hand at the #micropoem24 competition here: Uom.link/micropoem24