PA 145/16
Researchers from The University of Nottingham are inviting local writers and young people to submit poems to a new website to be in with a chance of having them displayed in public spaces across the city.
The project, which is called Words for Walls, will see poems selected from talented writers across the city to be displayed on buses, bus stops, in local businesses and in cultural institutions across the city of Nottingham - including in Broadway Cinema and Nottingham Contemporary - from October this year.
Submissions for entries are being accepted now and we are looking for the brightest writers around, who have something to say about Nottingham, to get in touch.
Submissions
The poems being chosen are being broken down into three categories. A third of the poems used will be from heritage writers and will be selected by University academics.
A third will be from published local writers, and submissions are also being invited from young people. So if you are aged between 16 and 21, then you can submit a poem to the website www.nottingham.ac.uk/go/wordsforwalls. These poems will be selected by local poets. If your poem is chosen for display, you’ll also win £50.
The project was devised by two research students from the University’s Faculty of Arts – Nicola Thomas and Philip Jones.
'Nottingham’s vibrant literary past’
Nicola said: “Words for Walls will fill Nottingham’s public spaces with poetry, bringing together the city’s extremely vibrant literary past, present and future. We’ll be displaying a selection of poems by local young people, Nottingham’s celebrated literary legends and our own contemporary talent on NCT buses and in public spaces across the city.
“In the meantime, we invite local young people aged 16-21 to visit our website and social media pages, where they can contribute poems about their city to the project.”
The poems will be chosen in September and will be officially launched for display in October, where they will remain for six weeks.
Cllr Cat Arnold said: “Nottingham City Council is pleased to support this exciting scheme to support the work of local poets and celebrate our UNESCO City of Literature status.”
Young people who are interested in submitting their poems are also invited to attend a series of workshops being hosted by the University in the next few weeks to help them develop their writing skills. There will be four sessions in total, which will be run by established poets. The workshops are:
- Tuesday 28 June in C7, Trent Building, University Park Campus, 2-4pm with Matt Miller
- Wednesday 29 June in C7, Trent Building, University Park Campus, 2-4pm - with Cleo Asabre-Holt
- Monday 4 July at the Studio, Broadway Cinema, 2-4pm - with Leanne Moden
- Tuesday 5 July in LG11, Trent Building, University Park Campus, 2-4.30pm - with Rosie Garner
To find out more or to submit a poem visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/go/wordsforwalls
Any local businesses interested in displaying poems can email wordsforwalls@nottingham.ac.uk
— Ends —
Our academics can now be interviewed for broadcast via our Media Hub, which offers a Globelynx fixed camera and ISDN line facilities at University Park campus. For further information please contact a member of the Communications team on +44 (0)115 951 5798, email mediahub@nottingham.ac.uk or see the Globelynx website for how to register for this service.
For up to the minute media alerts, follow us on Twitter
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and was named University of the Year for Graduate Employment in the 2017 The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK for research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…