St Michaels Catholic Church, Ilishan-Remo, has announced the winners of its poetry competition, themed “This Little Light of Mine.”
The judge, Pamilerin Jacob, selected the winners based on originality, imperfectness, and raw skill. He praised the young winners for their unique perspectives and voices, saying their poems were inspiring and compelling.
“The winning poems have at least one line of original thought, heading away from cliche,” Pamilerin Jacob said, highlighting the importance of originality in the winning entries.
The winners are:
First Place: Solomon Omotayo
Second Place: Oluwasemiloore
Third Place: Boniface Ukamaka
The finalists are Ayanfeoluwa Daniela Okedina and Chukwuemeka Esther Chioma.
“The poems which retained their nascent air, not having a mark of perfection akin with adult supervision were ranked higher,” Jacob added, emphasising the value of imperfectness in showcasing the children’s genuine creativity.
“The imperfectness of poems were still weighed against skill,” Jacob said, noting that the winners demonstrated impressive raw skill despite their youth.
The competition is part of St Michaels Catholic Church’s efforts to promote creativity and self-expression among the children in the parish.
The winning poems will be be published by Poetry Column-NND.