The Mercury Mall, Romford has invited children from twenty local schools to put pen to paper and write a poem for their Mother for Mother’s Day.
The poems can take any form the poet wants – amusing or serious, rhyming or free verse – but what can be guaranteed is that the sentiment will be the same – the child’s feelings towards their Mum.
The schools have all been sent a Teacher’s Project Booklet as a lesson aid which provides detailed information about a very broad range of writers from different genres, cultures and ages; 40 entry forms and, since the poems will be uploaded on to the Centre’s Facebook page, a leaflet about viewing the virtual Poetry Book.
With Mother’s Day very early this year – on Sunday, 11 March – the closing date for entries is Friday, 16 February to allow time for the poems to be judged, the best entries displayed in the Centre and prizes presented to the successful poets and their mothers.
The Romford and Havering area has a rich heritage of creative writers and artists, from 17th century poet Francis Quarles to Jessie J. We hope, in some small way, we can inspire the next generation of Romford literary greats.
Prizes will be awarded in two age categories – 5-7 and 8-11 with each winner receiving a £25.00 gift voucher for themselves and a £25.00 gift voucher for their Mother. The children will also be invited to read their poem to their Mother in a Facebook Live Read.
“We will also upload all the poems onto our Facebook page so that everyone can see how talented the children are,” says Spencer Hawken, Manager of Mercury Mall. “This very public display of affection can be viewed in a virtual Poetry Book from Wednesday, 21 February and the poem with the most ‘likes’ by Thursday, 8 March will win a £25.00 gift voucher both for themselves and their mum.”
“We will also donate £100.00 to the school submitting the best overall entries – perhaps for more poetry books or notebooks for the children to pen more poems.”
The competition is open to all local children between the ages of 5 and 11 including local groups and brownies and entry forms are available from Mercury Mall by calling 01708 733620 or can be downloaded from http://www.mothersdaypoetry.org/
Tags: Romford, Mercury Mall
