National Poetry Day 2023

Dr Jones Head of Library & Enrichment said:

"To help us celebrate National Poetry Day this year we had Scarlett Ward visit the school on Thursday 5^th October.

Scarlett spent the whole day at MSJ, starting us off with an inspiring assembly that opened up our ears to the power that comes from owning our language. She also challenged the idea of what a poem or poet is and how ideas can be conveyed using passion and authenticity.

Scarlett lead a range of workshops during the day with Year 5 and Year 6 in Prep, and Years 7, 8 and 9 in the Senior school. She tailored each workshop to the group, and pupils were given tools and techniques to help them generate ideas that focused on their senses and feelings. Everyone was encouraged to have a go at writing and then offered the opportunity to try out their words in front of the group.

The sessions were supportive and empowering and pupils felt excited to share their ideas with each other. The workshops focussed on the National Poetry Day theme of Refuge."

Scarlett Ward is a West Midlands poet whose debut collection Ache was published by Verve Poetry Press in 2019. She is an Assistant writer for Writing West Midlands, and Editor of On Your Doorstep magazine. She has been nominated for Best Spoken Word Poet by Sabotage awards in 2019 and came runner-up in Wolverhampton Literature Festival, Mother’s Milk Poetry Prize, and Lord Whiskey Poetry Prize. She has featured on Birmingham Radio and People’s Poetry Podcast.