2017 International Poetry Competition
£1000 first prize for a single poem
Guest Judge: Clare Pollard
Deadline 1st July 2017
Submit here: https://livecanon.submittable.com/submit
Previous winners include Inua Ellams, Andrew McMillan, Tessa Foley, Lesley Saunders, Aileen La Tourette and Kirsten Irving
Previous Judges include: Glyn Maxwell, Antony Dunn, Lorraine Mariner, Barney Norris
You can enter as many poems as you like to the Live Canon International Poetry Competition, and there is no line limit. You can enter from anywhere in the world, but your entry should be predominantly in English.
50 poems will be longlisted and published in our 2017 anthology.
20 poems will be shortlisted and performed by the Live Canon ensemble at our prize giving event at Greenwich Theatre.
1 poem will receive a winning prize of 1000 pounds. There is also a 100 pound prize for the highest placed entry by a poet living, studying or working in the London Borough of Greenwich.
Proceeds from the entry fee go towards the cost of running the competition, but any additional funds raised support Live Canon’s workshops for children in schools and libraries.
Entry fees: 1 poem £6, 2 poems £12, 3 poems £15, 5 poems £20, 10 poems £35.
Aileen La Tourette had this to say on winning in 2017:
“Live Canon are a totally fresh experience for our weary times – I was poleaxed by the American election and went to them for some kind of renewal, and did I ever get it. A group who exist to memorize and perform poetry – what could be further from all the noise, the sound bites that seem to bite more than sound? – They are an antidote to information overload, the commotion of the Internet and current affairs and our whole ‘Post Truth’ mess –
Say what you like, there is a truth to poetry that no Post Truth nonsense can mess with, and poetry learned ‘by heart’ and performed like this brings it right to us. Having Live Canon’s support was great, winning their competition was a huge honour. The live performance of new poems on stage at the Greenwich Theatre was a thrilling, intimate experience for everyone there. Live Canon wake you up with poems – just what we need, whether we know it or not.”