Students of PLC have certainly left a mark in the poetry space recently, taking home not one, but three highly competitive accolades.
Recipients of the 2021 Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Awards, Roland Leach Poetry Prize and Primo Lux Publications have been announced, and the creative students of PLC have made a stand(za) across all three areas.
Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Awards
The Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Awards is a national poetry competition for primary and secondary students which gives them a voice and an opportunity to strive for excellence in poetry.
This year, the optional theme was ‘rich and rare’ and many of PLC’s students wrote about the Australian landscape, identity, belonging and their relationships with the land and people.
PLC undoubtedly asserted themselves as next year’s benchmark after delivering some outstanding results. Year 11 PLC students, Pippa and Saskia, took out first and second place respectively, and three additional students were shortlisted for their creative flair and imaginative message delivery.
Congratulations to the following students whose poems were respectably recognised at such a high level:
- National Winner Senior Secondary:
Pippa (Year 11) for her poem Creatures of Digits
- National Runner Up Senior Secondary:
Saskia (Year 11) for her poem Grandfarmers
- Shortlisted Senior Secondary:
Noah (Year 11) for her poem Bittersweet
- Commended Senior Secondary:
Layla (Year 11) for her poem Skeleton Weed
- And also Commended Senior Secondary:
Tallulah (Year 12) for her poem The Nursing Home
Head of English, Mrs Narelle Lange, said we are very fortunate to have so many talented and skilful writers at the School.
“All of these students have such a unique, imaginative way of looking at the world around them and they are able to express their experiences, thoughts and emotions in powerful, beautiful and evocative poems,” Narelle said.
Roland Leach Poetry Prize
The biennial poetry competition aims to promote poetry in the community and recognise outstanding, original works of poetry written by young adults in Western Australia.
While named after our very own Head of English, Mr Roland Leach, the competition was judged by renowned WA poet, Kevin Gillam.
Year 11 student, Poppy was awarded the Overall Best Poet prize for the competition, and PLC was honored with the Best Poetry School award.
In addition, the following PLC students took out the top three places for the Upper Secondary Awards:
- 1st Place: Poppy (Year 11) for her poem Shoelaces
- 2nd Place: Poppy (Year 11) for her poem Potlucks
- 3rd Place: Pippa (Year 11) for her poem Creatures of Digits
Primo Lux Publications
Primo Lux is a professionally published anthology of student poetry which gives students the opportunity to have their work distributed and their voices heard by a wide audience. It is the only publication in WA which is solely for students’ work.
With students from across the state sending in poetry to be considered for publication, the standard of poetry is exceptional, and we are honored to have the below student’s poetry accepted:
Year 12
Juliet
Tallulah
Helen
Year 11
Pippa
Saskia
Poppy
Noah
Year 7
Marilyn
Congratulations to all the PLC students who entered these competitions and captivated the judges with their imagination and creativity.
Passionate school leadership makes a difference in getting students excited about poetry and Head of English, Mrs Narelle Lange, said she is so pleased to see a wide range of students being recognised for their successes in integrating poetry into their learning.
“Poetry is studied as an intellectual subject and students are also given opportunities to write their own poetry as part of the curriculum, and we encourage them to write for their own pleasure. Students are also supported and encouraged to enter their poetry in competitions and for publication,” Mrs Lange said.
She added, “As an English Department, we foster a love of language and poetry in our students – and these outstanding achievements are testament to that!”.
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