Daljit Nagra opens The National Poetry Competition 2009
(16 April 2009)

Asian writer and poet Daljit Nagra is one of the judges for this year's National Poetry Competition which opened on April 16th 2009. He is joined on the judging panel by Ruth Padel and Neil Rollinson. The 32nd National Poetry Competition is Britain’s top single-poem competition, and a highlight of the Poetry Society’s Centenary Year, it attracts entries from Nantwich to Nairobi. Past winners include Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Jo Shapcott, Ian Duhig and Tony Harrison.

The competition judges poems anonymously, ensuring that the award often generates vigorous debate and shock wins for previously unknown writers. Winning the National Poetry Competition is a rare and vital opportunity for a poet to have the spotlight turned on their work. They are published in the leading poetry magazine Poetry Review, on the Poetry Society's Website, and get the chance to read their winning poem at the Ledbury Poetry Festival… all this on top of a £5,000 prize!

Weighing up the merits of up to 10,000 poems will be Daljit Nagra, Neil Rollinson and Ruth Padel – who is also in the news as potential Oxford Professor of Poetry. Ruth gives a few tips on what she and her fellow judges will be looking for in a winning poem: "We shall be looking for original, imaginative and surprising poems, with their own voice and energy, that say something which hasn’t been said before. Crafted, but not self-conscious about it, no lazy words, and a beautiful, convincing movement through."

What makes it the one all poets, whether new or established want to win?

Dalgit Nagra, one of the judges this year explains; "Winning any prize in the National Poetry Competition is great acknowledgement for the poet that they are on the right path. The exposure does wonders for your CV, your kudos in the poetry world and for your confidence, as you will be noticed by your fellow poets!"

About Daljit Nagra

Daljit Nagra was born and raised in West London and Sheffield. He comes from a Sikh Punjabi background and his poems reflect this experience both in their content and their innovative blend of Punjabi and English. His poem Look We Have Coming to Dover! won the Forward Prize for Best Individual Poem in 2004 and became the title poem for his first collection which won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the South Bank Show Decibel Award and was nominated for several prizes such as The Costa Poetry Award and the Guardian First Book Award.

Deadline for Entries is October 31st 2009. To enter, download an entry form at www.poetrysociety.org.uk