‘Poetry for children is stretching its limbs in all directions’

CLiPPA 2022 is underway. Organisers CLPE have announced the judges for the UK’s leading award for published poetry for children and its plans for the biggest celebration of poetry for children yet.

Poet and former professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Wales Philip Gross will chair the 2022 judges. He is joined by fellow poets Nikita Gill and John Lyons, Becky Swain, Director of the new Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University, and Charlotte Hacking, Learning and Programme Director at CLPE.

Commenting on his role, Philip Gross said, ‘Poetry for children and young people is stretching its limbs in all directions – up and down the age range, on to the borders of the novel, biography, science or song, outwards into live performance and inwards to the thoughts and feelings you’ve never had words for before. So many different ways of being excellent… Think how hard that makes it to be right at the heart of it, where the CLiPPA sits, trying to select a winner. I’m looking forward to chairing the judges as they go through the submissions, hunting for poems that will prompt that gasp from young readers, “I never knew poetry could do that for me…” and “I didn’t know you could do that with poetry. Let me have a go!”’

The shortlist will be announced live at Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University on Wednesday 4 May, at the first of a series of live CLiPPA events. Further celebrations will take place at The Globe on 20 June, as part of the Poetry By Heart competition finals, with a very special CLiPPA Poetry Show planned for the announcement of the winner on 8 July 2022. The venue plus details of the special guests taking part will be revealed shortly.

CLPE’s popular CLiPPA Shadowing Scheme is open for registration too.

Children at St. Matthew’s C.E. Primary Teaching and Research School in Birmingham were amongst those who took part in the CLiPPA Shadowing last year, performing their poems alongside Michael Rosen live onstage at The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival. Headteacher Sonia Thompson recommends the scheme to all schools, ‘The whole school benefits from the CLiPPA Shadowing. The discussion and sharing between teachers, classes and children creates a joy in poetry that is palpable.  As far as I am concerned, all schools should take part, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.’

Louise Johns-Shepherd, Chief Executive of CLPE, said, ‘In CLPE’s 50th year we are delighted to be launching CLiPPA 2022 with a fantastic panel of expert judges, a return to a full programme of live poetry events, and record numbers of children from across the country expected to take part in the Shadowing Scheme. The CLiPPA raises the status of children’s poetry, introducing so many children to poets and poems they wouldn’t otherwise meet and encouraging everyone to find joy and excitement in the reading and performing of poetry.’

Michael Rosen won the CLiPPA 2021 with On the Move Poems About Migration.

The CLiPPA is delivered in partnership with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and supported by Arts Council England.