Entrants for Liberation 80th Poetry Open have only a few weeks remaining to submit poetry to reflect on, commemorate and celebrate 80 years since the Bailiwick’s Liberation.
Guernsey Arts is hosting the Liberation 80th Poetry Open as part of the creative programme celebrating this milestone anniversary and invites Island Creatives to submit a piece of poetry for publication in a commemorative anthology.
Jade Kershaw, Community & Public Realm Officer, commented: “Guernsey Arts is really excited about the programme of events we have planned for 2025, and the Liberation 80th Poetry Open is shaping up to be a great resource for documenting thoughts on occupation and Liberation 80 years on. Poetry is a great, accessible artform that anyone can try; we’d love to see entries not just from established poets but also those who would call themselves beginners!”
The Liberation 80th Poetry Open looks to use poetry, prose and the written word as a means for the community to share their words on such an important date in the Bailiwick’s history.
Entries are to be centred around core topics for next year’s anniversary, with special focus on what happened after the war. These topics are as follows:
- Evacuation & the return of the Evacuees
- Deportation & what happened to them
- Occupation & rebuilding the Island
- The German Forces & what happened after Liberation
- The Liberating Forces & planning the Liberation of the Islands
Poems may be submitted in English or Guernesiais. For those wishing to use Guernesiais, several phrases have been kindly provided by the Guernsey Language Commission:
- (the) Liberation, (a) Celebration – (la) Liberâtiaon, (énne) Célébrâtiaon
- (the) Freedom – (la) Libertaï
- Guernsey is free – Guernesi est libe
- Five long years, it is over now – Chin laongues onnaïes, ch’est fini achtaeure
- Let us remember, and celebrate – Faout s’en r’maette et célébraï
- The occupation is over – L’Otchupâtiaon est finie
- Eighty years ago – I’y a quater-vingts àns
- The island was liberated – L’Île fut liberaïe
Guernsey Arts is thankful for the support provided by Guernsey Museums and the Guilles-Alles Library. Guernsey Museums has created online resource and provided a hugely informative display of artefacts from the time period to aid in the ideas generation process. These artefacts are currently being kindly displayed on the second floor at Guilles-Alles Library to allow free access to all.
Guernsey Arts is also working with Dr Karen Marshall to arrange for the Liberation 80th Schools Poetry Open to be circulated across all education facilities, including the home-schooling community.
Guernsey Arts previously led a similar community initiative with Dr Marshall in 2020 for the 75th anniversary, which resulted in fantastic success. The team hopes that through this joint knowledge, 2025 will welcome more entries, encouraging Islanders of all ages to connect with our unique Island history.
It is intended that the poems will be used to create a commemorative 80th Liberation anniversary book, both in physical and digital form. Select poems may also be used for public art initiatives, encouraging the community to engage with the written word in new ways.
