A Trinity School sixth former has been named by the judges among the top 15 in this year’s Foyle Young Poets of the Year competition.
Outstanding: Trinity pupil Sienna Mehta. Pic: Hayley Madden
Sienna Mehta, from Purley, is 16 years old and is studying English Literature along with Maths, French and Spanish for A level, having joined Trinity’s sixth form this term. She has been writing poetry since junior school.
Her submission Unrequited sees her receive a fantastic range of prizes from the competition organisers, The Poetry Society, to help develop her writing.
Mehta and the 14 other winners will be invited to attend a residential writing course at The Hurst, the Arvon centre in Shropshire, as well as receiving a year’s youth membership of The Poetry Society and a bag full of books donated by generous publishers.
The Poetry Society continues to support winners throughout their careers, providing publication, performance and development opportunities, mentoring and access to a paid internship programme. Many big names in contemporary poetry were recognised by the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award as teenagers – including Sarah Howe, Caroline Bird, Jay Bernard and Helen Mort.
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is the biggest poetry competition in the world for writers aged 11 to 17 and this year received more than 13,500 entries from 6,600 young people in 100 countries.
The prize ceremony took place at the National Theatre last Friday, with Mehta reading Unrequited to a packed audience. Her poem will now be published in a winners’ anthology, available next March.
“I think creative recognition is always so meaningful, because sometimes writing poetry can feel very insular – often you wish you could know if what you’re doing is objectively any good,” Mehta said.
“Being in the Top 15 feels incredible, not only because it always seemed unattainable, but also because it has given me an invaluable confidence in my writing, and its potential to make an impact.”
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