Books / Poetry
Borderlines poetry project announced
Bristol arts organisation, Boomsatsuma, have secured funding from the Arts Council for an ambitious international poetry project, Borderlines.
Borderlines will see poetry centres across the UK and others in Poland, Finland, Estonia, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus and Greece supporting and inspiring young people aged 15 – 25 to write poetry on the theme of ‘Borders’ – “emotional, cultural and physical”.
In addition, young people from across the EU will be invited to contribute work online, which will form one of the largest collection of young people’s poetry in Europe. The young people taking part in the project will perform at a live streaming event on March 29 this year, the day the UK is set to leave the EU. This will be the start of a year of collaboration between young people based in the poetry centres across the EU.
Workshop leaders in each centre will run workshops and other activity to inspire young people to create work on the project’s theme of Borders. Joelle Taylor, Artistic Director and former lead of SLAMbassadors, The Poetry Society’s annual Youth Slam, will head up the team of poet mentors. Other leading names from the world of poetry and spoken word who will act as mentors include Anthony Anaxagorou, Zena Edwards and Adam Kammerling.
Joelle Taylor says: “As the world becomes more divided and countries fall into isolation it is vital that our young people raise their voices in support of global unity. Borderlines offers the perfect opportunity for young people across the UK and Europe to connect, consider the meaning of the word ‘borders’, and to discuss how they affect them in their personal, public and political lives. Working with a team of prominent UK poets and spoken word artists, the international exchange of voices has begun.’”
The project will also see the curation of “one of the largest online exhibitions of young people’s spoken word in the UK”. Any young person from Europe can submit their work via the Borderlines website. The best of the online submissions will be selected to be performed at the live events.
Boomsatsuma, based at Engine Shed, has been delivering education, arts and creative opportunities for the last five years. During that time, it has worked with more than 2,000 children and young people.
For more information on the Borderlines project and how to get involved, visit https://www.borderlinespoetry.com/
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