Friday 23 June 2017

Given Words for National Poetry Day 2017



We are pleased to announce a new edition of Given Words for New Zealand's Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, 2017. Last year the words were donated by Australian poet Les Murray, this year we have decided to do things a little differently.

We would like YOU to choose the five words.

In the first stage we would like you to send us a very short video saying one word of your choice (like in the promo video above). If you want to you can also briefly explain why you have chosen the word. Please send only one word per person. It can be a noun, verb or adjective, and any language spoken in New Zealand. Send the video by email to nzgivenwords@gmail.com along with your name and town. You can record it on any device - the quality is not important as long as we can hear the word clearly! The deadline for sending your words is Wednesday 26 July, 2017. This is open to all New Zealand citizens and residents.

The second stage will begin on 1 August when we will publish a video with the selection of our five favourite words from all those you have sent us. Then you will have until National Poetry Day 25 August to send us your poem which must include each of the five words.

We will be awarding a prize for the Best Poem and a prize for the Best Poem by Under-16s. The winner of Best Poem will receive a copy of the New Zealand Poetry Yearbook 2017, courtesy of Massey University Press and the winner of the Under-16 category will receive a copy of Lonesome When You Go by Saradha Koirala courtesy of Mākaro Press. In addition the winning poems will be translated into Spanish and published on the Spanish version of the project Palabras Prestadas.

To receive updates about the competition please subscribe to our newsletter here. We only send emails related with this competition and you can easily opt out at any time.

Video credits: A big thank you to the Olive family and friends from Lower Hutt for donating your words!