Kāpiti Coast District Libraries’ to celebrate poetry

Wordsmiths in Kāpiti will mark National Poetry Day at the Paraparaumu Library next week by sharing their latest stanzas.

Kāpiti Coast District Libraries is hosting an open mic poetry reading on Friday 28 August to celebrate National Poetry Day and also mark the end of the libraries’ third annual poetry contest – If You’re a Poet We Want to Know It.

Council’s libraries and arts manager Leeann Morgan says this year’s contest theme of “Laughing Out Loud” was about encouraging and celebrating humorous poetry in its many forms.

“All the way from witty, sardonic, amusing, dry and charming, to laugh out loud, belly-laughing, foot-stamping funny, we’ve seen and celebrated it all in this year’s poetry contest,” she says.

More than 35 people have entered the Laughing Out Loud poetry competition and the winners will be announced at the open mic night, which starts at 5.30pm.

Mrs Morgan says anyone with a love of language can come along to listen or bring their own work to read at the open mic night.

“You can read a poem about whatever you want and in a very supportive environment,” Mrs Morgan says.

“Whatever your poetry style is, or even if you’re not a huge poetry fan, it’s going to be a fun evening.”

A feature of the night will be the launch of a new anthology of Kāpiti poetry featuring the entries from the libraries’ Laughing Out Loud competition.

“Again this year we’ll be providing a book in print as well as an eBook and we hope people will find something in it that will tickle their funny bones or make them smile,” Mrs Morgan says.

The judges of the poetry contest this year are the members of the Friends of the Kāpiti Libraries.

National Poetry Day is managed by the New Zealand Book Awards Trust.