Kia ora,
In 2016 I set up Given Words for National Poetry Day and have been running the competition for ten years – dreaming up ways to collect the five words, receiving lots of poems in my inbox throughout August, reading every poem and selecting the winners alongside the other judges.
This year, 2026, I've decided to take a break, to give myself space to develop other projects. Sometimes a fallow year is needed for the weeds and wildflowers to grow, and it is a time to both look back at everything we have achieved together and wonder what will come next.
National Poetry Day was on 28th August 2026. You can find all the information about events and competitions on the National Poetry Day website.
I can't seem to switch off though, recently updating the About Given Words section where you can find some interesting graphics – with participation across Aotearoa New Zealand and how we've grown over the years – and in the panel on the right you can find links, by year, to read poems from previous editions.
Over the past few years I have been preparing an anthology of poems from Given Words and approaching poetry presses for publication. I have also been contacting the selected poets to ask for their biographies. With the ten years of participation this has been a fascinating task where I am part detective, part secretary, and it made me chuckle when one of the poets said, 'it's like herding cats'. I've found that editing an anthology doesn't finish with the selection of poems – behind the poems are human stories; some funny, some surprising, others deeply moving, happy or sad.
Since July I have been sharing stories and reflections from the Given Words community on our Instagram @givenwords alongside tributes to the poets Lara J. Sanderson, John Tāne Christeller and Elizabeth Brooke-Carr. Some of the images from these are below. Do visit and browse these inspiring stories!
Because Given Words is much more than just a poetry competition – it's about community, inspiring younger writers, exploring new media with 'Word Films', publishing winning poems in Spanish, and I have ideas for exhibitions and community outreach which have already begun taking shape. If you are in a position to support the publication of the anthology and the future of Given Words, you are very welcome to write to me at nzgivenwords@gmail.com.
Ngā mihi nui,
Charles Olsen
@givenwords
