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Black History Month competition

Contact: niall.munro@brookes.ac.uk

Project start: August 2023

About us

For Black History Month 2023, the Poetry Centre is delighted to be running a special poetry competition inspired by the national Black History Month theme: 'celebrating our Black sisters'.

As the Black History Month organizers explain, this year's events will be 'dedicated to honouring the achievements of black women who are often the forgotten heroines. We want to amplify their voices and challenge the systems that oppress them.'

The competition is free to enter and open to anyone in Oxfordshire. It is also open to members of Oxford Brookes University and the University of Oxford, even if they are not currently resident in Oxfordshire. The competition has two categories: under 16 and over 16. The closing date is Sunday 1 October and there are more details about how to enter on this page.

We are excited to say that our judge for the competition is the award-winning poet Isabelle Baafi - you can find out more about Isabelle below.

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Isabelle Baafi

Isabelle Baafi

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Niall Munro

Dr Niall Munro

Senior Lecturer in American Literature & Director of the Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre

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Celebrating our Black sisters

The theme for this year's Black History Month in the UK - and for this competition - is 'celebrating our Black sisters'.

Perhaps your poem will be inspired by the life or work of a famous Black woman writer, musician, artist, actor, sportsperson, or a current or historical public figure. You can find some good examples of inspirational figures on the Black History Month website.

Or your poem could equally be about a fictional Black sister: a character who has appeared in literature, myth, film, or TV.

But these are only suggestions - we invite you to interpret the theme as broadly as you like!

Black History Month 2023 logo: a yellow circle with Black History Month 2023 in the middle against a black background with yellow fireworks.

About the competition

  • The competition is free to enter.
  • Entrants must be from Oxfordshire or members of Oxford Brookes University or the University of Oxford.
  • There are two age categories: under 16 and over 16.
  • Parents/guardians/carers/teachers are welcome to enter poems on behalf of children - please see the 'How to enter' section below.
  • We warmly encourage entries from Black writers. To celebrate poetry by Black entrants, we invite poets or people entering on their behalf to let us know if they identify as Black.
  • Entries must respond to the theme of 'celebrating our Black sisters'. See below for some ideas about how to do this.
  • There will be a First Prize in each category and a Second Prize. The judge will also select a shortlist of entrants to recognize other excellent poems.
  • Poets may enter up to three poems.
  • Poems should be no longer than 50 lines.
  • Poems should be in English, but a few words in a different language are welcome.
  • Poems must be received by 23.59 (UK time) on Sunday 1 October.
  • Winners and shortlisted poets will be notified by Monday 23 October.
  • An awards event will take place on Wednesday 1 November at which winning and shortlisted poets will be invited to read their work - this may be online or in person, and details about this will follow.
  • The copyright in each poem submitted remains with the author but prize-winning entrants grant Oxford Brookes University a non-exclusive, worldwide licence for the duration of the Competition (which is deemed to end on 30 September 2024), and for ongoing publicity purposes.

Prizes

There are two categories: under 16 and over 16. The judge will award a First Prize and Second Prize in each category. First Prize in each category is a set of books to the value of £75, with each Second Prize consisting of books to the value of £25.

The judge will also select a shortlist of other poets - although these writers will not be awarded prizes, we would like to recognize other excellent work. Together with the winners, shortlisted poets will be invited to read their poems at the awards event.

How to enter

Please email your entry/entries as attachments to poetrycentre@brookes.ac.uk by 23.59 (UK time) on Sunday 1 October. Please send them in Word/pdf/rich text or text formats.

Since the competition is judged anonymously, please ensure that the document you send does not contain your name. Please title your e-mail 'Black History Month poetry competition' and in your e-mail text, let us know your name, your postcode, and which age category you are entering.

If you are entering on behalf of a child, please tell us your name and the name of the child too.

We warmly encourage entries from Black writers. To celebrate poetry by Black entrants, we invite poets or people entering on their behalf to let us know if they identify as Black. Please tell us in your e-mail.

If you have any questions about your entry, please contact us: poetrycentre@brookes.ac.uk

About our judge

Isabelle Baafi

Isabelle Baafi

Isabelle is a British-born poet, fiction writer, and editor of Jamaican and South African descent. Her debut pamphlet, Ripe (ignitionpress, 2020), was a winner of the 2021 Somerset Maugham Award, and was the Poetry Book Society’s Pamphlet Choice for Spring 2021.

She was the winner of the 2019 Vincent Cooper Literary Prize and shortlisted for the 2021 Brunel International African Poetry Prize. Her poetry and prose has been published in the TLS, The Poetry Review, The London Magazine, Magma, bath magg, and elsewhere.

Isabelle is the Reviews Editor at Poetry London, and has guest- or co-edited issues of Magma, Poetry Wales, and Tentacular. She is also a Ledbury Poetry Critic, an Obsidian Foundation Fellow, and an editor at Magma.

She has been commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and Verve Poetry Press. She was a member of the Creative Access & Penguin Random House Mentoring Programme (2021-22), the Griot’s Well Programme with Writerz and Scribez (2020), and the London Library’s Emerging Writer’s Programme (2019-20).

Isabelle received a BA in Comparative Literature and Film from the University of Kent, and is studying towards an MSt in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford.