We begin this week by looking at a forest-inspired poetry competition, the poet home that has received funds to become a tourist attraction and the outgoing Scottish makar.

Poetry Competition Launched for Ashdown Forest

It has been 100 years since the first book of poetry by A.A. Milne was published and Ashdown Forest has launched a poetry competition to celebrate the occasion.

There are categories for both teenagers and adults in the competition which has been created through a partnership between the poet in residence of the forest and also The Ashdown Forest Foundation.

The poet in residence will lead the judging panel for the competition, which will include Kathryn Aalto, a trustee of The Ashdown Forest Foundation and the author of The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as zoologist and author Sanjida O’Connell.

All of the winning poets will have their poems published on the Ashdown Forest website and will receive a full set of Winnie-the-Pooh books. All entries should be inspired by the forest or be about the forest.

Poet’s Home Becomes Attraction

The poet Norman Nicholson, who passed away in 1987, lived in Millom on St George’s Terrace throughout his lifetime. Now funding has been secured that will help to turn the property where he lived into a tourist attraction that may help to bring visitors to the little town in Cumbria.

Funding of £64,000 has been received by The Norman Nicholson Society in order to begin the restoration work on the property. There are plans to create an event space, a coffee shop, and accommodation for tourists in order to celebrate the poet’s life and work.

The property was purchased by the group in February and the grant which has been provided by South Copeland GDF Community Partnership, will enable them to begin repair work on the exterior of the Victorian terraced property.

Nicholson wrote, plays, poetry and prose from his home in Millom and earned a reputation all over the world. He was awarded an OBE and also the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. He was respected and admired by many of his fellow poets including Seamus Heaney, TS Eliot and Ted Hughes.

The work on the outside of the building is the first phase that will help to bring the society’s work together, however there is likely to be a need for further funding to begin the important work on the interior.

Scotland Makar a Hard Act to Follow

Whilst previous national poets in Scotland served a five-year term, the position is one that only lasts for three years. Kathleen Jamie, the current Makar, is stepping down after her three-year tenure in the role, and the Scottish Government is now looking for her replacement. Jamie is the fourth poet to have held the role since it was created in 2004.

During her three years, she has written poetry about the opening of parliament, the Cop26 Summit, and the life of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Her work has also recently been featured at the International Book Festival, which took place in Edinburgh, during which some of her poems were set to music.