Teens battle for Poet Laureate crown

A PAIR of Vale youngsters are set to have their literary skills tested to the full as they bid to become the county's second young poet laureate.

Anthene Bowman, 15, from Harvington, and Vicky Trotman, 14, from Wadborough near Pershore, have made the final of the coveted Word Up competition which takes place at Pershore Number 8 next Friday (January 27).

On the day they will be asked to perform their poetry in front of a live audience and panel of judges along with another 13 participants.

The judging panel, made up of Ruth Foster, Steve Wilson and Julie Andrews from Worcestershire County Council, supported by professional poet Matt Windle, will be looking for someone with a unique talent for poetry who will embrace the role of the young poet laureate and promote poetry to others throughout the county.

The 2011 winner Laura Dedicoat is now established as one of the region's best young poets.

Entrants were asked to write one poem on the subject of games and another on any other topic.

Natalie McVey, who helped organise the competition, said the shortlisting process was very tought.

"We've received a fantastic range of entries to our Word Up competition," she added.

"All sorts of styles, themes and topics have been explored by our county's budding poets. It has been a joy to read and judge them all, but was very tough to get them down to just 15.

"This competition has been a great way to encourage young people to explore their local library, get creative, improve their writing and hopefully catch the poetry bug.

"Everything's set for a wonderful final."

As well as taking the title of Worcestershire's Young Poet Laureate 2012, the winner will receive a trophy and will be commissioned to write and perform poetry. They will also have their own poetry mentor for the year to support them through their role as the young poet laureate. Duties throughout the year will include acting as a poetry champion to encourage and inspire others to enjoy poems, write poems to celebrate special events in Worcestershire and perform at literary events.