Magnificent seven shortlisted for poetry prize Seven young poets from across the country have been shortlisted for the first Christopher Tower Poetry Prize, a new poetry competition organised by Christ Church, Oxford. The shortlisted winners, aged between 16 and 18, will find out who has won prizes totalling over 5,000 when Poet Laureate Andrew Motion announces the winners at Christ Church Picture gallery on Thursday 26 April. The competition, launched in September 2000, challenged students from schools and colleges throughout the UK to write a poem on the theme of 'Blue'. Judges have now shortlisted seven winners from over 500 entries for the country's most valuable literary awards for 16-18 year olds.
Creative writing is an increasingly important aspect of literary education.
Learning about writing poetry helps students who are beginning to think about ways of reading poetry. The Christopher Tower Poetry Prize was launched following a bequest to Christ Church which provides for the promotion of the art of writing poetry in English. The Christopher Tower Poetry Prizes aim to encourage the writing of poetry amongst young people in the 16-18 age group by establishing an annual set of prizes for the best poems on a set theme. The winners, their families, and schools representatives will attend the prize giving ceremony on Thursday 26 April. In addition to personal prizes, the students' schools and colleges will also receive cash prizes.