Light of the Qur’an Poetry Competition, 2020
Light of the Qur’an Poetry Competition, 2020
Darul Qur’an wal Itrah is pleased to present its annual Light of the Qur’an Poetry Competition.
The aim of the competition is to encourage reflection on Qur’anic verses and values to inspire personal development. Poetry can facilitate both the reflective process and the expression of Qur’anic ideals in beautiful and powerful ways. Moreover, we believe that there is a vast amount of creative potential within the community; we hope that a poetry competition will nurture and direct creative talent to promote the light and beauty of the Qur’anic message.
Competition Rules
The Light of the Qur’an Poetry Competition, 2020, is open to all ages. This year, we have extended participation to welcome international entries as well as entries from the UK. The themes and age brackets for the competition are as detailed below:
Age 7 – 10 years: Lessons I learned in Lockdown
Age 11 – 14 years: Reflections in Lockdown
Age 15 – 18 years: The Struggle to Belong
Age 19 + years: Rising for Justice
Please note that the above themes do not have to be used as the titles of the poems submitted. Rather, they serve as a general theme.
Submission Rules
- All poems must be original works and written in English by the participant himself/herself.
- All poems must be typed.
- All poems must have a title.
- The maximum length of poems should be approximately 100 lines, excluding the title.
- Poems must be submitted via email to darulquran@hujjat.org.
- Please indicate clearly in your email, the name of the participant, age, and title of the poem.
- Participants are permitted to submit only one poem. Multiple entries will not be accepted.
- The competition is open to all. Entries from UK residents and non-UK residents are welcome.
The deadline for all poetry submissions is Sunday 15 November 2020.
Judging Criteria
Poems will be judged on:
- Depth, clarity and creativity of thoughts and ideas
- Use of poetic devices (eg. imagery, personification, metaphor, assonance, euphony, rhyme)
The use of poetic devices will be reflected in the way the sound, meaning, imagery and arrangement of the words comes through in the poem. Please note that the poems will not be judged according to the number of poetic devices used, but rather how the devices are used to convey the meaning and message of the poem in an effective and powerful way.
The judges will mark each poem according to the above criteria. Decisions made by the judges in determining the winning entries will be final.
Awards Presentation and Prizes
A winner and a runner-up will be selected from each category. Cash prizes will be awarded to all winners and runners-up. Announcements and notification of all winners and runners-up will be made on 20 December, 2020.