The competition, aimed at poets between the ages of 11 and 17, has had its most popular season since it began 15 years ago. If that wasn't impressive enough,the vast number of entries was matched by the variety of nationalities involved, with submissions being fired in from 46 countries.

The Independent reports the competition's success in light of a busy summer for the integration of poetry into the mainstream, recalling the performing poets and slam artists who were popular at festivals like Glastonbury, Latitude and the Big Chill. Just as important, however, are the growing communities of poets which these focused events are inspiring and representing: encouragingly, the Young Poets Network, run by the Poetry Society, has over 3,200 members, and the SLAMbassadors online competition also attracted hundreds of entries.

Enthusiasm and community are important, and, according to the quality of the entries, are not disconnected from the production of good poetry. Judith Palmer, of the Poetry Society, notes that the teenage poets have an ability to "confound all the usual stereotypes about teen introspection", and, significantly, can "think their way imaginatively into other lives". 

The responses of the judges were equally impressive: Helen Mort, a poet herself and former winner of the competition, revealed that "many of this year's entries were eye-catching, but the winning poems were so vivid they played tricks with the light". 

The growing profile of young poetry was highlighted by Radio 4's Richard McCough, poet and presenter, who commented that "there is a vibrancy out there, illustrated by the growing numbers of teenagers taking part in competitions".

By all accounts, then, this is a promising trend in terms of both quantity and quality, but for proof you can check out a list of the 15 winner's of this year's competition, and the rest of the article, here.

Credit: The Independent