Last week, we shared the exciting news that we had chosen a winner and two runners-up for our BSL Poet Laureate competition 2023. You have been waiting patiently, but now we can share their poems with you!
It was a very difficult choice, as the standard was so high. Our seven judges voted on the fluency and creativity of the poet’s language, the content and originality of the poem itself, and the confidence of the performance.
Our new BSL Poet Laureate is Kabir Kapoor, with his uplifting poem about the Deaf and hearing community coming together and about positivity overcoming negativity.
Congratulations also to our two runners-up: Zoë McWhinney in 2nd place with her poem about the history of the recognition of BSL, and Michael Watkinson in 3rd place with his rhythmic poem “Sailing in Silence”.
We hope you enjoy them! If you are interested in poetry yourself, why not apply for the competition next year?
Many thanks to our sponsors, DeafZone at Glastonbury, for their generous support of the competition.
#BSLPoetLaureate #BSLpoetry #signedpoetry #Deafpoetry #Deafculture #WhyILoveBSL #BritishSignLanguage #BSL #Deaf