Wednesday, July 23, 2008


THE 2008 NEW ZEALAND POST NATIONAL SCHOOLS POETRY AWARDS


The shortlists:

For the Best lyric prize – poems listed in no particular order

‘Downtown Bazaar’ by Saxon Adams of St Andrews College, Christchurch
‘Passage Over Water’ by Cara Chimirri of Rangi Ruru Girls’ School, Christchurch
‘Mrs Potts’ by Sonya Clark of Karamu High School, Hawkes Bay
‘All You Can Eat’ by Jimmy Garden of Wellington College, Wellington
‘Molly’ by Taylor Hughson of Wellington College, Wellington
‘A pinker shade of blue’ by Jennifer Yeh of St Cuthbert’s College, Auckland

For the Best poem prize – poems listed in no particular order

‘Purple’ by Carlos Carbonatto-Bowkett of Wellington College, Wellington
‘The World Instead’ by Ish Doney of St Andrews College, Christchurch
‘Flotsam and Jetsam’ by Manon Revuelta of Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, Auckland
‘The Parameters of Refugeeism and Flight’ by Nalin Samountry of Tamatea High School, Napier
‘Fooling Around’ by Claire Sorrenson of Takapuna Grammar School, Auckland
‘If, Only’ by Finn Teppett of Wellington College, Wellington

Winners will be announced on August 2022, 2008. The ‘Best Poem winner’ will receive an HP Pavillion dv2610TU notebook and a $500 cash prize.

Musician Samuel Flynn Scott (The Phoenix Foundation) will adapt the ‘Best Lyric’ winner’s poem into a song which Loop will then record, release and service to radio accompanied by a music video for television. The winner will receive the opportunity to spend time in a professional recording studio with the artist and engineer as well as a $500 cash prize.

Scott is excited by the ‘Liberate Your Words’ poetry competition. "As a musician, I feel I can sometimes hide my words away, bury them in the mix or swallow them in reverb so I have the greatest respect for people who give writing a go”. Scott says a good song should be able to connect with vastly different people. “The shortlist contains what I think are great examples of the future of New Zealand writing. I was happy to find some quality work among the entries that kept their distance from the banalities of love and sorrow that can make teenage poetry intolerable.”

The New Zealand Post National Schools Poetry Award are supported by Tearaway Magazine, the New Zealand Book Council, Booksellers New Zealand, the New Zealand Society of Authors, and literary magazines Sport and Landfall. All year 12 and 13 students were eligible to submit poems.

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