We’re pleased to share a great opportunity from Alumno Group, which are looking to commission a new public poem marking the arrival of Benedicts Gate; an impressive new building located at the bottom of Grapes Hill and by the city’s outer wall.

Alumno are seeking applications from early-career poets in the East Anglian region and their aim is to commission a poem which includes the names of all 12 of the historic gates from Norwich’s Old Town Wall. The commissioned poem (around 24 lines in total) will be incorporated into 12 specially-designed panels showcasing the entrance of the building and will be a very visible arts feature within the new public space.

The selected poet will receive a fee of £2,000 to undertake research, write the poem and to perform it publicly when the building opens in September 2020.

Alumno are keen to offer the opportunity to a poet who is in the early stage of their writing career and the selected writer will receive support from curator Matthew Jarratt and the National Centre for Writing.

The deadline for applications is Friday 20 December 2019 and the selected poet would need to produce the work by the end of February 2020.

Please read the terms & condition below before applying.

How to apply

To apply, please send a letter (in .doc or .pdf format) describing your work and interests together with examples of previous work, including up to two poems (or links to poems) of not more than 20 lines maximum each which you feel are relevant.

Entries should be emailed for the attention of Matthew Jarratt to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Benedicts Gate, Norwich poetry commission’.

Terms & Conditions

• The selected poet will be commissioned to produce a contemporary poem which includes the names of the 12 gates from the Old Town Wall in Norwich
• The fee of £2,000 includes research, writing, expenses, travel and the performance of the poem at the building launch in September 2020
• The opportunity is open to early-career writers and poets currently residing in the East Anglia region (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk). By early career, we mean that the poet shouldn’t have published more than two poetry pamphlets, and they shouldn’t yet have a full collection.