The Young Poets Network has launched Our Whole Lives: We Are Protest: A Poetry Challenge Inspired by the People of 1381. Writers up to age 25 based anywhere in the world are invited to submit a protest poem. The deadline is 9 May 2022. 

This is the challenge! Write a poem about protest using one of these three prompts:

1. Write a poem about a march or demonstration you have attended, or a protest from history, in any part of the world. Think about all the sights, sounds and smells, and how they inform the emotional and political ideas of your piece. 
2. Write a poem about the body as a site of resistance. This can be taken in any direction: in what way can a body refuse the laws and norms enforced on it by society?
3. Write a letter to an oppressive idea or structure that you wish to resist. Inspired by Danez Smith, you may use the form ‘Dear…’ as your title. Try and imagine what a better, fairer world might look like, and use vivid imagery to show it to your reader. You can even try recording yourself performing it and see how it feels to say your words out loud.

A free writing workshop to help inspire your entry is being held online by Theresa Lola on 12 April.

For further information about the challenge and details of how to submit yiour poem, go to: https://ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk/workshop/our-whole-lives-we-are-protest-a-poetry-challenge-inspired-by-the-people-of-1381/