John Betjeman Poetry Competition

The John Betjeman Poetry Competition 2011. Closing date 31st July. Open to
10-13 year-olds in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Website:
www.betjemanpoetrycompetition.com.

First prize: £1000 ((£500 to the winner and £500 to the English department of his or her school). Five runner-up prizes of £50 book tokens.

Details: Write a poem on the theme of 'place'.

Each child is invited to send in (by post or online) one poem on the theme of 'place'. They can choose anywhere that is important to them - from their bedroom to somewhere they visited on holiday, from their favourite park to
their favourite building. The subject of their poem could be a city or a
garden or a beach or a street. We are asking them to capture in words what that place means to them.

Winners of the poetry competition are invited to read their poems aloud to an audience of judges, entrants, teachers and parents at a prize giving held in October on the concourse of St Pancras station, next to the bronze statue of John Betjeman by Martin Jennings. This year the prize of £1000 will be presented by a much loved personality.

Entry forms at www.betjemanpoetrycompetition.com.

Postal entries to The John Betjeman Poetry Competition, PO Box 51177, London, SE13 9BP.