Arts Council England is inviting poets to help commemorate the bicentenary of the abolition of the Slave Trade Act by writing a poem on the theme of enslavement.

Eleven poems have been commissioned from some of the UK’s leading poets, including Bernardine Evaristo, Fred D’Aguiar and Paul Farley, and these poems will be published monthly on the Arts Council website.

But ACE are also looking for a twelfth poem, which will be chosen via an open competition with a £500 prize on offer for the winner.

Closing date 28 September

Only one submission is allowed per person and the competition is open to UK residents only.  Entrants should not previously have had a full collection of poetry published.

The complete entry details and an application form can be downloaded from www.artscouncil.org.uk/abolition2007.

Read Legal Tender by Fred D'Aguiar

 Fred D’Aguiar said:

"We know Faulkner's saying that the past is never past but this is particularly true of slavery and its legacy for contemporary life. If we remember the past we can avoid repeating its errors and we can do a little to correct the residue of hurt for those on the receiving end of history's wrongs."

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