Deadline for Poet Laureate of Jamaica 2019 Prizes extended

The deadline for Poet Laureate of Jamaica 2019 Poetry Prizes has been extended to January 4, 2019. With over US$4,000 in prizes to be won, this year marks the second cycle of the competition, with the addition of three new prizes funded by Lorna Goodison, Poet Laureate of Jamaica.

Last year, there was a tie between Jovante Anderson and Lauren Delapenha, who copped the top award of the Poet Laureate of Jamaica Young Writer's Prize for Poetry. This year's winners will be declared as part of the World Poetry Day 2019 celebrations on March 21.

The Poet Laureate of Jamaica Young Writer's Prize for Poetry: The winner of the prize will receive US$1,000. The shortlisted applicants get the opportunity to have their work appraised by staff and students of the Master of Fine Arts writing programme at the University of Michigan.

The prize is open to Jamaican nationals between the ages of 17 and 25.

The Edward Baugh Prize for Poetry: Open to an emerging poet under the age of 35 residing in the eastern end of the island namely, the parishes of Kingston, St Andrew, St Thomas, and Portland. The prize will include a cash award of US$1,000.

The prize is administered in partnership with the University of Virginia Center for Poetry and Poetics. The prize is established in honour of Professor Edward Baugh.

The Michael Cooke Award: Open to a male poet residing in the western end of the island, namely, Hanover, Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, St James, and Trelawny. The winner will receive US$1,000. The prize is established in honour of the late Professor Michael Cooke, a Jamaican who, in 1962, became the first black person to have tenure as a professor of English at Yale University.

The Louise Bennett Award: Open to a Jamaican poet of any age or station in life residing in the central parishes of the island, namely, Clarendon, St Ann, St Mary, Manchester, and St Catherine. The award will include a cash prize of US$1,000. The prize is established in honour of Louise Bennett Coverley or Miss Lou, as she is affectionately called, Jamaican cultural icon and recognised as the 'mother of Jamaican poetry'.

The entries can be submitted to the National Library of Jamaica, 12 East Street, Kingston, Mondays-Thursdays; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Fridays 9 a.m.-4 p.m. or via email to sub​mit@nlj.gov.jm

For further information visit www.nlj.gov.jm/poetryprize or contact (876) 967-2494 for more details.