Write Science – The Poetry of Science
Fun Palaces are about arts and sciences, community and culture; we believe in everyone an artist, everyone a scientist. We are partnering with literary and performance organisations, and supporting BBC Get Creative, with a different kind of writing competition, one that’s about sharing and engaging, bringing arts and sciences together to create, and taking that work back to our local communities. We have no categories, all ages of writers, scientists and mixes of both very welcome.
What You Do :
Find a scientist, talk to them about what they do, how they do it, why they love it – then write a poem about it. Write something that explores that scientist’s passion, or considers what is sparked in you by having a new conversation. Or, if you’re a scientist who’s never written a poem – now’s your chance.
Make it a poem that can be shared – spoken, declaimed, whispered, shouted, painted, broadcast, scribbled, drawn, animated, acted, filmed – a poem that wants to leap off the page, out of the mouth, into the world.
Fun Palaces are about creating with neighbours, making with people in our own communities – so it would be great if the scientist you speak to is someone who lives locally. This is a chance to make new work, where you live. And remember, not all scientists work in laboratories … some work in GP practices and dentists’ surgeries, in garages, in computer shops, in schools and in local parks. They don’t all have white coats and bunsen burners (though those ones are lovely too!), they also work in tech and digital, with keyboards and screens, in Maker movements and sometimes in your own front room.
What We’ll Do :
Fun Palaces and representatives from our Literary and Performance Partner Organisations will read all submissions and create a longlist of 25 poems. Our judges will then choose six writers to share their poems live at local Fun Palaces on the Fun Palaces weekend 3rd & 4th October 2015. We’ll share them online via our Fun Palaces website and social media, with our Literary and Performance Partners and with BBC Get Creative.
Fun Palaces and our Literary and Performance Partners will help the six writers prepare to share their work live, at a nearby Fun Palace on Fun Palaces weekend 3 & 4 October 2015. (If you’re too shy to perform it yourself, or too far away/unable to travel, we will do our best to find someone who will share it for you.)
What We’ll Also Do :
Our brilliant Fun Palaces friend and ally Jen Toksvig had a great idea to help us make this whole event even more inclusive and engaging, so we’re also going to come up with a whole load of Fun-Palaces-style offers for extra things you can do with your work, around the Fun Palaces weekend and beyond, whether you are in the longlist of 25 or the final group of 6 or not – we’ll share this closer to the time. #EveryoneAPoet
Our Partners :
Literary and Performance : Apples and Snakes, New Writing South, Writing East Midlands, Writing West Midlands, Writers’ Centre Norwich, Literature Works, Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester, Live Theatre Newcastle
Our Panel :
Jonathan Davidson (poet, playwright, Chief Executive Writing West Midlands), Stella Duffy (writer & Co-Director Fun Palaces), Jen Hamilton-Emery (publisher, Salt Publishing), Sophie Lambert (literary agent, Conville & Walsh), Degna Stone (poet)
How to Enter :
– entry is free and eligible to anyone living in England (we will happily accept entries from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but we are unable to guarantee a performance location as we currently have fewer local Fun Palaces in these nations – we do, however, welcome many more signing up!)
– maximum 250 words
– one entry per person
– email submission in Word document (not pdf) to writescience@funpalaces.co.uk
– put your full name, postal address and phone number both in the body of the email AND on the attached document with your poem
– deadline midnight Friday 31st July
– Fun Palaces WriteScience Terms and Conditions