About Coventry's Poets Laureate
Current Coventry Poets Laureate 2023-2025
The Coventry Poet Laureate and Coventry Young Poet Laureate are honorary posts appointed by Coventry Libraries and Information Service and Coventry City Council in 2023. The posts will run until 5 October 2025 at which date two new Poets Laureate will be appointed. Both positions are appointed every two years.
- Coventry Poet Laureate - 18 years and older on 31 August on year of appointment
- Coventry Young Poet Laureate - 13 years or older and under 18 years old on 31 August on year of appointment
The winners were announced on Tuesday 10 October 2023, and are:
- Coventry Poet Laureate – John Bernard
- Coventry Young Poet Laureate – Aamani Kanda
John Bernard
John Bernard, known as the city's voice for the youth, is recognised for his authentic, raw, and impactful work. He has graced the stages at renowned UK events and venues, such as Shambala Festival, Formula 1 Silverstone, BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend, Symphony Hall alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and many others. John's artistry has gained prominence on both local and national platforms, including BBC Radio 3's "The Verb," BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 1Xtra, BBC Bitesize, BBC CWR, and BBC Introducing. Committed to promoting a passion for words, John collaborates with schools, youth organisations, universities, and community groups to inspire and empower young minds through his art.
Aamani Kanda
Aamani Kanda is currently 17 years old and studying at Foxford Community School. Some of her hobbies include creating art, cooking, going to the gym and writing in her spare time. At school she studies art, literature and psychology, and aspires to progress in her education to study law at University.
Previous Coventry Poets Laureate
As part of the BBC Contains Strong Language Festival Coventry 2021, Coventry Libraries and Information Service and Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 supported these two exciting roles:
- Coventry Poet Laureate - 18 years and older on 31 August 2021
- Coventry Young Poet Laureate - 13 years or older and under 18 years old on 31 August 2021
The winners were announced on Thursday 23 September 2021, and were:
- Coventry Poet Laureate - Emilie Lauren Jones
- Coventry Young Poet Laureate - Hawwa Hussain Find out more about what inspired the winning poets on BBC CWR.
The Coventry Poet Laureate and Coventry Young Poet Laureate are honorary posts appointed by Coventry Libraries and Information Service and the Coventry UK City of Culture 2021. The posts will be run until 5 October 2023 at which date two new Poets Laureate will be appointed. Both positions are now appointed every two years.
Emilie Lauren Jones
In 2021, the year Coventry became UK City of Culture, Emilie Lauren Jones became Coventry's first ever Poet Laureate. She has previously performed alongside poets such as Simon Armitage, Liz Berry and Roy McFarlane. Her poetry has been featured on local and national radio including on BBC Radio 4, BBC 5Live and BBC 6 Music. Emilie runs regular writing workshops for adults and young people, she also enjoys visiting schools and community groups to share her love of words.
Hawwa Hussain
Hawwa is a Year 11 pupil at Eden Girls’ School Coventry. She is 15 years old, and has two sisters, one is about to turn 17, and one just turned 20. She loves watercolours, drawing, baking, studying, and of course, writing poetry! She also loves reading, and is a librarian in her school library. She is also a Head of House in her school. Some of her favourite books include Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and the Summoner series. Some of Hawwa’s favourite subjects in school include Biology, Maths, English and History. One of Hawwa’s ambitions is to become a teacher.