“Dare to Hope” is the theme for the 2022 Malliouhana Poetry Competition. According to the Organising Committee, “Dare to Hope” is an invitation to unmask our dreams, declare our determination, and hold our desires up to the sunlight of optimism. In the midst of social mandates to cover and distance from each other, “Dare to Hope” is an opportunity to uncover within ourselves what we hold dear, and to use that knowledge to craft value-filled futures.
Now in its fifteenth year, the annual literary competition is organised by the University of the West Indies Open Campus Anguilla, in collaboration with the Anguilla Library Service, the Department of Youth and Culture and the Anguilla Community College. The goal is to encourage literacy and artistic expression, as well as to promote an ethos of social, cultural, and political awareness.
Popular among poets of all ages, the Malliouhana Poetry Competition also forms part of the annual Anguilla Day National Celebration activities. It is open to persons residing on Anguilla and features two categories: Poetry on the Page and the Performance Poetry/Spoken Word. Junior poets (those in the 8-12 age range), Teens (aged 13 to 17) and Adults (ages 18 and up), are invited to submit their unpublished works for either or both categories.
Poets in the Performance Poetry/Spoken Word category will be required to perform their submissions for judging in front of a live audience at the annual Awards Ceremony scheduled for May 12, 2022. Winners of the Poetry on the Page category will be invited to read their submissions at the ceremony. All the Winners will also have the option of sharing their work at The Anguilla Lit Fest.
The deadline for entries is March 31, 2022 and entry forms, as well as the rules for the 2022 Competition, may be obtained from the Anguilla Library Service and The UWI Open Campus Anguilla.
Persons seeking more information are invited to contact the Anguilla Public Library at 497-2441 or The University of the West Indies Open Campus at 497-8156 or email anguilla.mpc@gmail.com.
– Press Release
