“Poetry is boring, it’s for old people and you have to be highly skilled at writing to enjoy it.” This year, to help erase this stubborn stain that is deeply attached to poetry and the writing of poetry more specifically, the Young Writers team at the National Literacy Trust ran the first-ever Young Poet Laureate Programme for primary and secondary schools across West Yorkshire in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and National Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. The programme was launched at the first-ever West Yorkshire Poetry Week which left its poetic imprint tattooed across hearts and minds across the region. Fourteen local poets brought the energy of contemporary poetry to thirty West Yorkshire classrooms and 140 schools signed up to take part in a series of remote and pre-recorded events with accompanying classroom resources.
Poetry came alive in West Yorkshire during Poetry Week, empowering children, young people and teachers to pick up the pen and experience the power of poetry, through freewriting, self-expression and speaking one’s truth. Poetry week wasn’t about learning how to be good at poetry but about playing with language, rhythm, volume and movement to discover everyone’s individual poetic style. It was all about silencing rules and breaking down the barriers attached to poetry, finding ways to use language to communicate and perform feelings, experiences and ideas.
This work was very important to me. As a poet, spoken word artist, and educator, my mission in life is to encourage poetry to be taught everywhere, from classrooms and universities to our local parks and communities. Poetry opened a whole new world to me. Life was not always as it is now. My childhood came with lots of challenges and difficulties. It was being able to write and pour my heart, my emotions and feelings onto paper which saved my life in many ways. You see, I believe poetry gave me a new lease on life, hope and the chance of becoming a person that I could only dream of becoming as a child.
The next stage of the programme will be the most exciting one. Students in Year 4, Year 9 and Year 10 across West Yorkshire had the opportunity to submit their original poetry to be considered for the first-ever post of Young Poet Laureate for West Yorkshire. The entries that have come in gripped me emotionally and have really pulled me into the landscape of each individual young poet and the world they are expressing. We announced our amazing shortlist this week and we will be appointing a primary school Laureate and a secondary school Laureate in September with the help of Simon Armitage, Mayor Tracy Brabin and a team of local poets. Before the appointments, the shortlisted young poets will go on a creative journey, attending a poetry masterclass at the Bradford Central Library and performing at the BBC Contains Strong Language Festival in Leeds. I am excited about the future of the shortlisted poets and where this may lead them in the future. It’s going to be a truly inspiring experience and one I am honoured to be part of.
On a personal level, this is history in the making and being able to deliver this programme in my hometown and across West Yorkshire has been priceless, something I will deeply treasure. I know the younger me would have loved to have been part of such an incredible programme and I am excited to see what lies ahead.
Congratulations West Yorkshire Young Poets!
Sharena Lee Satti
Sharena Lee Satti is a poet, spoken word artist, educator and workshop facilitator based in Bradford. She is always pushing boundaries, advocating for women and campaigning for underrepresented voices to be heard in society. Her second poetry collection Shhhhh is available for pre-order from Verve Poetry Press.
Our Nominees for West Yorkshire Young Poet Laureate | National Literacy Trust
Children's Poetry Summit 
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