The Malliouhana Poetry Competition Committee is celebrating World Poetry Day 2017 (21st March) by saluting all the poets on Anguilla. Now in its tenth year, the competition has thus far attracted more than two hundred entries from over one hundred and fifty (150) poets from all age ranges over the years, as well as the participants in the Poetry Extempo held in October. A special salute is being extended to last year’s participants in the competition, including Savannah Croft and Alysha Carty – the winners in the Junior Categories; T’arah Niles and Vanessa Croft-Thompson – the two Senior Categories winners, as well the 2016 honouree, poet and revolutionary heroine, Mrs. Daisy “Wong” Richardson.
The Committee is reminding all writers of the 31st March deadline date for the submission of entries for the Malliouhana Poetry Competition 2017. This year’s theme is “Malliouhana Our Rock … 50 Not Out!” following on last year’s theme in recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution. Scheduled for 3rd May, the Competition is part of the official Anguilla Day activities. 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.
The annual literary event is open to all persons residing on Anguilla and features two categories: Poetry on the Page and Performance Poetry. Junior poets (those in the 8-15 age range) and the Seniors (ages 16 and up) are invited to submit their unpublished works for one or both categories. Poets in the Performance Poetry/Spoken Word category will be required to perform their submission for judging in front of a live audience at the Awards Ceremony. Winners of the Poetry on the Page category will be invited to read their submissions at the ceremony and all the Winners also have the option of sharing their work at The Anguilla Lit Fest.
Entry forms, as well as the rules and regulations for the 2017 Competition may be obtained from the Anguilla Library Service and the UWI Open Campus Anguilla Site at Pope Hill on the Queen Elizabeth Avenue. The deadline date for entries is 31 March 2017.
For further information please contact the Anguilla Public Library at 497-2441 and the University of the West Indies Open Campus at 497-8156 or email anguilla@open.uwi.edu.
– Press Release
