Poetry can hold a lot of power, and it has been said that it is all that is worth remembering in life.
Someone worth remembering in life is former Duncan mayor, Cowichan Foundation founding member, and published poet Michael Coleman. His legacy lives on through the MC Youth Visual Poetry Contest & Film Festival. The Poetry and Spoken Word competition was started in Coleman's honour in May 2022.
"It is very gratifying to see the Cowichan Foundation honour and remember my dad in this way," said Foundation board director Charlie Coleman. "Dad was a founding member of the Cowichan Foundation and the board has always supported VIU, youth, education and the arts. This poetry contest combines dad’s passion for poetry and public service. He would have been amazed and impressed by the talent of our Cowichan Valley youth."
The contest was re-branded this year to add clarity on what the foundation was looking for with entries, and to hit home to the participating youth that their videos would be presented at a showcase film festival.
"Previously, some students struggled to marry their spoken word poetry with a creative video that illustrated their work, and so we wanted to emphasize the video portion and encourage more creativity on the visual aspects of their submission," said co-organizer Jane Epps. "We didn’t want to muddy, limit or confuse our submission pool with criteria that might have separated out a particularly spoken-word-style piece. Our panel of judges always look at the whole package, so the video should always have worked to enhance the written portion of their submission. I definitely found that this change added some clarity and the students' submissions had more polish on their visual elements this year.
"Young creatives between ages 16 and 20 who had either recently graduated from a Cowichan Valley school or who are currently attending, were asked to submit an original poem and one to five minute video by April 14, and this year's contest saw more than 34 competitors. The annual contest welcomes all themes and topics and is judged in the areas of content, language, poetic qualities, and presentation. The top three entries will receive cash prizes of $5,000 for first place, $2,500 for second, and $1,000 for third.
"We have continued to see growth in the entries every year we have held this competition," said Cowichan Foundation president Daniel Varga. 'I am not sure of any other youth poetry competition on the island that has prizes of this size. We have included a $500 prize this year for literary excellence."
The top 15 finalists have all been given some feedback from the judges and have been invited back to this year's festival and awards ceremony, which will be held at the Vancouver island University Cowichan campus on May 22 at 7 p.m. All finalists will receive a certificate. The cash prizes are made possible in partnership with corporate sponsors Duncan Dairy Queen, RBC Dominion Securities, as well as Varga & Associates and several other community sponsors.
"It should be an amazing evening of poetry," said Varga.
Everyone is welcome to attend the event, which is presented by the Cowichan Foundation in partnership with several other community sponsors. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and silent auction which will benefit next year’s contest. Tickets are $10 before taxes and can be purchased at eventbrite.ca.
"It’s the best value for money, you will be amazed at the talent in this community," said Varga. "I hope the community comes out to support the arts, and see what talent is in our youth today. Quite often, these young poets are shy and not one to stand up in the classroom, and by having the form of video to showcase their art, they are able to be seen and heard. I am so amazed at the talent we have within our community, and am honoured to be a part of this group, and showcase the talented youth in the Cowichan Valley."
