Thank you to everybody who entered Poetry Rivals 2009. We received an amazing 7000 entries and choosing the 100 finalists was an extremely difficult task for our editorial team. Congratulations to those of you that have made it through to the Poetry Rivals 2009 Slam Final. A full list of finalists can be found below.

Due to the local and national postal strikes in 2009 we did suffer a delay with the publication date of the Poetry Rivals 2009 Collection. We also had a large number of entries from school children who only supplied their school address with their entry. This did delay the publication date further as we had to wait until the school holidays ended before we could contact them with news of their publishing achievement.

Our intention was to hold the Poetry Slam Final at the end of October as this was the original publication date for the books, but because of the delay we decided to put things on hold. Now that all orders have been fulfilled we will be concentrating on making arrangements for the Slam and we will be releasing the venue and date details shortly. Please keep checking back here for further details.

We have already received some amazing feedback from people that have received their books and would like to thank those of you that have taken the time to email and write to us with your comments.

We look forward to reading your poetry again this year.



Under 18 Qualifiers For The Poetry Rivals 2009, Poetry Slam Final.

Poem: Home
Writer: Jennifer O’Hara
Age: 11
Location: Coatbridge

Poem: The Magic Of Freya’s Fair
Writer: Samuel Smith
Age: 9
Location: Somerset

Poem: Don’t Worry, No Fear
Writer: Samantha Sebbage
Age: 14
Location: East Sussex

Poem: I Remember
Writer: Naomi Allen
Age: 14
Location: Devon

Poem: What Is A Rose
Writer: Francesca Blyth
Age: 9
Location: Cleveland

Poem: Hyde And Seek
Writer: Bronwyn Ellis
Age: 17
Location: East Yorkshire

Poem: My Heart Hurts
Writer: Emma Radclyffe
Age: 17
Location: High Wycombe

Poem: The hidden Princess
Writer: Leah Watts
Age: 13
Location: Dorset

Poem: I will Put In My Box
Writer: Max Birkin
Age: 9
Location: Surrey

Poem: The Return Of the Survivor
Writer: Kirsten Munday
Age:
Location: Surrey

Poem: Child Snatcher
Writer: Cleo Henry
Age: 13
Location: Leicester

Poem: Anonymity
Writer: Nina Patricia Sabado
Age: 15
Location: Switzerland

Poem: Lachlan Vass
Writer: The Obstacle Course
Age: 7
Location: Tokyo

Poem: The Butterfly
Writer: Vanessa McKane
Age: 12
Location: Belfast

Poem: My School Trip To Llandudno
Writer: Jo-Anne Taylor
Age: 9
Location: Widnes

Poem: 17 Summers
Writer: James Johnson
Age: 17
Location: Kent

Poem: Untitled: Are Roses That Are wilted….
Writer: Anwen Hayward
Age: 16
Location: Cardiff

Poem: Lost Cuddle
Writer: Rachel Gaffney
Age: 10
Location: Essex

Poem: Seasons
Writer: Seren Cave
Age: 11
Location: Lincolnshire

Poem: Untitled: Without You
Writer: Paris Sharpe
Age: 8
Location: Wednesbury

Poem: Senseless
Writer: Tasha Murphy
Age: 13
Location: Loughborough

Poem: Over Shakespeare’s Romance
Writer: Beth Cortese
Age: 17
Location: Rutland

Poem: Living Through The Seasons
Writer: Rebecca Lodder
Age: 17
Location: London

Poem: The Twisted Heart
Writer: Nicholas Conroy
Age: 14
Location: Kent

Poem: Porcelain Doll
Writer: Lauren Fisher
Age: 13 
Location: Inverclyde

Poem: Armageddon
Writer: Phyllida Jacobs
Age: 13
Location: Devon

Poem: Words Can Hurt
Writer: Catherine Van Maanen
Age: 12
Location: Essex

Poem: The Jibber Jabber Jing!
Writer: Bethany Hamer
Age: 13
Location: Cumbria

Poem: Black Oil
Writer: Francesca Lee
Age: 16
Location: East Sussex

Poem: Untitled: Pythagoras
Writer: Rowan Ottesen
Age: 16
Location: Hants

Poem: I Beg You My Lord ...
            ... Never Give Me A Daughter
Writer: Zain Amir
Age: 15
Location: Cardiff

Poem: Shell
Writer: Tania Knight
Age: 14
Location: Essex

Poem: Bloodthirsty Love
Writer: Sydney Payne
Age: 13
Location: Somerset

Poem: The Moat Digger
Writer: Ashleigh Alton
Age: 16
Location: Lancashire

Poem: Puppet Of Perfection?
Writer: Rachel Patterson
Age: 13
Location: Morpeth

Poem: Life
Writer: Ellie Guillory
Age: 14
Location: Tyne & Wear

Poem: Executioner Of The Human Race
Writer: Michael Rowe
Age: 14
Location: Gloucestershire

Poem: The Four Spirits
Writer: Annabel Wilson
Age: 15
Location: Bournemouth

Poem: the Psychiatrist
Writer: Eleanor Dove
Age: 17
Location: Bedfordshire

Poem: You Are My Island
Writer: Natasha Forbes
Age: 16
Location: Stafford

Poem: Anon
Writer: Emily Hibbs
Age: 17
Location: Solihull

Poem: Healed
Writer: Hannah Soyer
Age: 14
Location: Johnston, Iowa

Poem: Mysterious Night
Writer: Francesca Lawrence
Age: 10
Location: Alton, Hants

Poem: In Goes The Needle
Writer: Rachel Boyd
Age: 13
Location: Larkhall, Lanarkshire

Poem: Every Night
Writer: Tim Churchfield
Age: 12
Location: Norway

Poem: The Breaking Of One’s Pearl Necklace
Writer: Shaula Garibbo
Age: 14
Location: Teignmouth, Devon

Poem: Aspiration
Writer: Charlotte Hulme
Age: 14
Location: Hampshire

Poem: Full Moon
Writer: Chris Holdsworth
Age: 16
Location: Romney Marsh, Kent

Poem: War And Poppies
Writer: Joseph Berenson
Age: 14
Location: London

Poem: Deafened
Writer: Shelby Derbyshire
Age: 17
Location: Jarrow, Tyne & Wear

Over 18 Qualifiers For The Poetry Rivals 2009, Poetry Slam Final.

Poem: Wings On A Prayer
Writer: Julian Collins
Location: Worcester

Poem: Michael’s Mess
Writer: Janet White
Location: Derbyshire

Poem: Yar! Yar! Yarnstorming!
Writer: Daniel Feisty
Location: Cleveland

Poem: Liquid Isabella
Writer: Tanya Duff
Location: London

Poem: From An Alley, A Flame
Writer: Morney Wilson
Location: London

Poem: Blackbird
Writer: Vincent Ryan
Location: Dorset

Poem: Some Rediscovered
Writer: Carlene Dany
Location: North Yorkshire

Poem: Some Things Are Easier To Paint
Writer: James Orr
Location: Middlesex

Poem: Turn Of  The Tide
Writer: Margaret Jude
Location: Cambridge

Poem: Lifespan
Writer: Ray Racy
Location: Bristol

Poem: The Coming Of Spring
Writer: Keith Marchant
Location: Woking

Poem: My Grandmother
Writer: Eleanor Greenwood
Location: Berkshire

Poem: The Realm Of Darkness
Writer: David Whitney
Location: Torrevieja, Spain

Poem: Money God
Writer: Andrew Barber
Location: Swindon

Poem: Alchemy
Writer: Bernard Brown
Location: Chichester

Poem: Snowbound
Writer: Rosemary Benzing
Location: Shrewsbury

Poem: Where Gallantry Reigned
Writer: William Dodd
Location: Hampshire

Poem: Don’t Mind Me, I’m Only The Potato Peeler
Writer: Christine Quarrington
Location: Eastbourne

Poem: Among The Seafront
Writer: Lindsey Priest
Location: East Yorkshire

Poem: A Bright Green Rose
Writer: June White
Location: Bedfordshire

Poem: A Midsummer Dream
Writer: E J Urmston
Location: Lancashire

Poem: Blackbird
Writer: Ian Dixon
Location: Middlesex

Poem: Uploders
Writer: David Tas
Location: West Sussex

Poem: Compulsion
Writer: Richard Turner
Location: Lancashire

Poem: Eldorado – The Facts Behind The Fiction
Writer: J G Ryder
Location: Gloucester

Poem: Red
Writer: Lisa Chambers
Location: Wolverhampton

Poem: The Boy Soldier
Writer: Olive Woodhouse
Location: Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan

Poem: See Mrs West
Writer: Patrisha Reece-Davies
Location: Peterborough

Poem: Tsunami
Writer: Mrs A J Mannion
Location: Okehampton

Poem: A Brief History Of South East England
Writer: Steven Howarth
Location: Kent

Poem: Hands Of The Tempest
Writer: Malcolm Wilson Bucknall
Location: Hornsea, Yorkshire

Poem: The Annahaia Hills
Writer: Gerard Hughes
Location: Newry, Co Down

Poem: A Far Away Look In His Eyes
Writer: Helen Somers
Location: Burnham On Sea, Somerset

Poem: More Than The Milky Way Has Stars
Writer: Bryn Strudwick
Location: Basingstoke, Hampshire

Poem: The Corners
Writer: Trevor Wiggan
Location: Wolverhampton

Poem: In Days Of Old
Writer: Yvonne Sparkes
Location: Chelmsford, Essex

Poem: The Ploughman
Writer: Alan Vincent
Location: Bedford

Poem: Crying Days
Writer: John Green
Location: Frimley, Surrey

Poem: Thirty Years
Writer: Fraser Hicks
Location: Gosport, Hants

Poem: Lake Windermere
Writer: Ronald Caseby
Location: Chichester, W Sussex

Poem: Rat And Mouse
Writer: Kath Hurley
Location: Romford, Essex

Poem: Inglewood
Writer: Mr Russell
Location: Aloa

Poem: Pavement Pies
Writer: Gavin Capstick
Location: Carlisle, Cumbria

Poem: Here-Life
Writer: Cherry Pyke
Location: Launceston, Cornwall

Poem: Death By Call Centre
Writer: David Walter
Location: Hereford

Poem: The Tree
Writer: Eric Holt
Location: Bolton

Poem: Passing
Writer: Lynn Noone
Location: Manchester

Poem: Our Head In Our Hand
Writer: Edward Taylor
Location: Cambridge

Poem: His Famous Delayed Jump
Writer: Judith McCarthy
Location: London

Poem: A History Of Dancing
Writer: Rishi Dastidar
Location: London

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