Loose Leaves

CAROLINE WALSH's weekly column on the literary world...

Old Possum’s Children’s Poetry Competition

Any poet in the world – so long as you’re aged between seven and 11 years old – can enter Old Possum’s Children’s Poetry Competition 2010. Veteran poet Roger McGough chairs the judging panel this year, and entry is free.

Organised by the Children's Poetry Bookshelf, a book club run by the Poetry Book Society, the competition is now in its fifth year. Last year it had nearly 4,000 entries from all over the world. To link with National Poetry Day, on October 7th, children are asked to write a poem in English on the theme of home. The competition is a great way of making sure a whole new generation of children enjoys TS Eliot's great classic Old Possums Book of Practical Cats, with its wondrous poems about Macavity, Old Deuteronomy and a host of other cats. All young entrants should read it before penning their own gems.

It’s open to individuals and to schools, with cash prizes, along with books and CPB memberships. Entries will be accepted from September 10th to October 15th; the winners will be announced at a gala in London in December, and winning poems will be published in a booklet by the PBS.

A teacher’s guide will be available to download from the CPB website from September. See childrenspoetrybookshelf.co.uk.

First signs of explosion in volcano-themed books

It was only a matter of time until we had the volcanic-eruption novel for 2010, although it's not about the most recent one. Set on the Westman Islands' 'Pompeii of the North' excavations, Ashes to Dust, by the Icelandic crime writer Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, is out next week.

In 1973 these islands, 10km off the south coast of Iceland, experienced one of the country’s most devastating volcanic eruptions, lasting over five months and covering nearly a third of the original town of Heimaey.

Sigurdardóttir’s plot focuses on investigations in Heimaey 30 years after the eruption, when human remains are discovered at one of the excavated houses.

Her third novel, it’s published by Hodder and Stoughton. No doubt sleuths are already hatching up sagas based on the eruption in the Eyjafjallajökull glacier last spring with – all the tales of woe it brought in its wake.

It seems unlikely, but could the simple haiku help end poverty?

Dóchas, the network of Ireland’s overseas aid agencies, and the Irish Haiku Society (IHS) might seem unlikely partners, but they’ve teamed up to launch the society’s International Haiku Competition 2010. The winning poems must include reflections on or references to what it means to live in Ireland at the beginning of the 21st century.

Hans Zomer of Dóchas says they are always seeking to improve Ireland’s role in the global fight against extreme poverty. “We need to find new ways to express the importance of global solidarity for countries like our own, and, in the age of Twitter and 140-character messages, haiku presents the ideal art form for those of us concerned with global justice and poverty.”

The closing date is October 31st. Participation is open to poets born or living in Ireland. The prize for the winning haiku is €100, with two additional prizes of €30 and €20. Winning entrants will be posted on the IHS website. The adjudicator is Anthony Anatoly Kudryavitsky, editor of Shamrock Haiku Journaland the president of the Irish Haiku Society. See irishhaiku.webs.com/haiku competition.htm.