Every year, once the blues of January have washed away and everyone is beginning to buzz about spring and the next half term holiday, Gumley House Convent School hosts its annual Poetry Festival. This event allows students, whether they are year 7 beginners or experienced A Level students, to showcase their poetry. If a student's poem is selected for the event, they then have the chance to read aloud their work to an avid audience and an experienced poet.
Mya Coco-Bassey, a student who took part in the competition last year, said that: "the competition gave me a platform to express myself and to gain recognition for my creativity." It is clear that this is a wonderful opportunity for students to reconnect with their emotions and understand the importance of literature and poetry.
On the subject of poetry's importance, Mya says that for her, "poetry is a way for me to understand myself on a deeper level and communicate to others in a way that no other art form can." I believe that poetry is a gift that we must treasure: as Mya's says, there is nothing else in the world that can touch others in the way that poetry does. And so, by celebrating eachothers poems annually, we are keeping the art alive.
