On the 12th of May 2023, 14 year old Ryan Oppermann (8d) won 2nd place in the poetry competition for schools 2023, hosted by the British Council. Poetry Competition for School Pupils 2023 | British Council This poetry competition had two separate categories for English and German poems and the topic this year was “future” (a response to Selina Nwulu’s poem, “We have everything we need”). The competition has been taking place since 2018 and is open to all students in Germany between the ages of 13 & 18. Thanks to his poem “Happy Place”, Ryan won a poetry workshop for his class, tickets for the Haus für Poesie poetry festival and a place in the poetry writing workshop “Open Poems.” Ryan’s poem, along with the other three winners, has been translated into German and will be published on the British council website.
Interview with Ryan Oppermann
What inspired you to write this poem?
“As the school is against racism and war I was inspired to write this poem in support of the
school's values.”
What is your poem about?
“Materialism, war and racism”
Did you expect to win, if not why?
“No because it was for all of Germany and those are a lot of people”
Are you planning on writing more poetry in the future?
“Yes sure, because it is fun”
Click on the link below to read the winning poem and four others by 8CD students.
https://padlet.com/sarahdent1/poetry-padlet-8cd-nmkk5hq4l3kw0msy
The poem by British poet Selina Nwulu
We have everything we need — Selina Nwulu
British