The Farnham Poetry Competition has returned and this year is calling for entries on the theme of ‘Peace’. The deadline is looming – it’s on Friday, February 20 at 5pm.

This year Farnham Lions rather than the parish are running the competition, but we are still involved and will be hosting the final at St Mark’s on March 14.

Poems are invited from all ages and can interpret the theme in any way. Examples might be what peace is, how humans can find peace, or experiences of war and peace.

The entries will be judged by age according to four different groups: Up to and including age seven, eight to 11 years, 12-17 years and 18 and older.

The competition is free to enter and there is no limit to the number of entries per person. All entrants will then be invited to the final where the winners and runners-up will be announced. This will be on March 14, at St Mark’s, starting at 5.30pm. Winners will be encouraged to read their poems, and this will be followed by an open mic session.

Poems can be sent to poetscomp@farnhamlions.org.uk or by post to Farnham Poetry Competition, Farnham Town Hall, South Street, Farnham, GU9 7RN. Names, contact details and age (if under-18) should be included but names should not be on the poems themselves as they will be anonymised before being sent to the judges.

The judges are Linda Daruvala for the adult category and Coral Rumble for all three under-18 categories.

This is the sixth year the poetry competition has been run; it started in 2021 as the Farnham Lockdown Poetry Festival and in 2022 became part of the inaugural Farnham Literary Festival where it has found its home ever since.

Pictured: Dolcie, one of last year’s winners, with her mother (left) and Coral Rumble.