Poetry By Heart is the pre-eminent national poetry recitation competition, and we were extremely proud this year of LAE student performances from Renee Osbourne and Saffiyah Bazan.  Renee's performance was highly commended by the judges, and Saffiyah made it all the way to the final in a star-studded event hosted at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. 

The competition received over 3,000 entries from across the country, putting Saffiyah’s in the top 3% nationally.  Her rousing performance of Anna Laetitia Barbauld’s ‘Rights of Women’, first on The Globe’s stage itself, and then before a panel of acclaimed poets in the intimate setting of the Sam Wannamaker Playhouse, perfectly captured the spirit of the original text, conveying the urgency of its proto-feminist message to a modern audience. 

As well as a series of electrifying performances from the students themselves, throughout the day there was also plenty of poetry from a host of voices from across the British literary establishment, including Forward prize winner and chair of the Royal Society of Literature, Daljit Nagra; and former Poet Laureate, Sir Andrew Motion. 

In all, it was a wonderful event, full of inspiring moments and moving performances. We look forward to next year’s competition: to working with LAE’s next group of Poetry By Heart competitors, and (hopefully) a return visit to the Globe.