How It Works

The Isle of Wight Poet Laureate programme celebrates poetry, creativity and the Island's literary community. Established as a volunteer-led initiative, the programme appoints a Poet Laureate for a two-year term, creating opportunities to share poetry with people of all ages and backgrounds, celebrate the Island's cultural identity and encourage new voices to be heard.

How It Started

The idea for an Isle of Wight Poet Laureate began with a simple question. Lottie Begg, founder of Lemon Jelly Press CIC, wondered why an Island with such a rich literary history and heritage didn't have its own Poet Laureate. Had there ever been one? Despite the Island's connections with celebrated writers and poets, it appeared that the Isle of Wight had never had a dedicated local laureate.

Lottie began reaching out to others involved in the Island's arts, literature and cultural communities to see whether there was an appetite for establishing the role. Among those invited into the conversation were representatives from Creative Island, Medina Publishing, other local publishers, Isle of Wight Radio, VEX Spoken Word and the Isle of Wight County Press.

The response was enthusiastic and unanimous: the Isle of Wight should have its own Poet Laureate!

What began as a conversation quickly developed into a collaborative project. The group generously volunteered their time, experience and ideas to explore how a Poet Laureate could be appointed and, importantly, what the role could offer the Island. Together, they helped shape the selection process, formed the committee responsible for choosing the inaugural Poet Laureate and discussed opportunities for poetry to become a greater part of Island life.

Ideas ranged from working with schools and community organisations to celebrating local heritage, supporting emerging writers and finding creative ways to raise the Island's cultural profile. From the beginning, the ambition was to create more than an honorary title. The group wanted the Poet Laureate to be an active and visible presence, using poetry to bring people together and create opportunities across the Island.

How the Poet Laureate Was Chosen

We created an application process that invited aspiring Poet Laureates to submit five poems alongside a written or video statement explaining what they felt they could bring to the role. We weren't necessarily looking for the most experienced or widely published poet, but someone with strong writing skills, enthusiasm, fresh ideas and a genuine commitment to using poetry to connect with communities across the Island.

The applications were reviewed by our volunteer selection committee, who considered both the quality of the poetry and each applicant's vision for the role. From these applications, a shortlist of poets was selected and invited to take part in the next stage: writing a new poem inspired by an Island town.

These poems were shared publicly, and Islanders were invited to vote for their favourite. The public vote gave people an opportunity to discover the shortlisted poets' work and contribute to the selection process, with the results helping to inform the committee's final decision.

Alongside the public vote, the committee considered the original applications, the poems submitted throughout the selection process and a meeting with the shortlisted poets and volunteers. Together, these elements helped the committee choose someone who demonstrated not only poetic talent, but also the enthusiasm, creativity and community spirit to help shape the Island's first Poet Laureate role.

What Does the Poet Laureate Do?

The Isle of Wight Poet Laureate serves a two-year term, acting as an ambassador for poetry and helping to make creative writing more accessible and visible across the Island.

The role is intended to be varied and collaborative, with opportunities to work alongside schools, community groups, cultural organisations, local publications and Island events. Through workshops, readings, commissioned poems and community projects, the Poet Laureate can help people discover poetry in unexpected places and encourage those who may never have considered writing themselves.

Each Poet Laureate will bring their own interests, experiences and creative ideas to the appointment. Rather than prescribing a fixed programme of activities, the initiative aims to give each laureate the freedom to develop projects that reflect their passions while responding to the interests and needs of Island communities.

The wider ambition is to build a lasting literary tradition for the Isle of Wight, with each new Poet Laureate building on the work of those who came before.

Publishing the Poet Laureate's Work

From the very beginning, we wanted to create a lasting record of each Poet Laureate's time in the role, capturing their observations of Island life, its people, places, communities and changing seasons through poetry.

At the end of each two-year term, Lemon Jelly Press CIC will bring together a collection of the Poet Laureate's work, creating a unique literary snapshot of the Isle of Wight through their eyes. The collection will be donated to Island libraries and schools, ensuring it can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, as well as being available to purchase through Lemon Jelly Press.

Publishing the collection is part of Lemon Jelly Press's commitment to supporting the programme and celebrating the Island's literary heritage. All profits from book sales will go directly towards supporting the next Poet Laureate in their role, helping to build a lasting tradition that continues to inspire, connect and celebrate Island communities.

Supporting the Programme

The Isle of Wight Poet Laureate programme has been built on a shared enthusiasm for poetry and a belief in the positive role creativity can play in our communities. From the outset, it has been a volunteer-led initiative, bringing together people and organisations who have generously contributed their time, expertise and ideas to help establish a new literary tradition for the Island.

The inaugural Poet Laureate programme was launched without a dedicated funding budget, relying instead on goodwill, collaboration and practical support. We are incredibly grateful to Red Funnel, who generously contributed £500 towards the inaugural awards celebration in October 2026, Quay Arts, who kindly provided the venue for the event free of charge, and Style of Wight magazine, who supported the celebration by providing professional event photography at no cost.

Lemon Jelly Press CIC has also contributed organisational resources and publishing expertise as part of its wider commitment to encouraging literature, creativity and opportunities for writers within the community.

Looking ahead, we hope to develop new partnerships with local businesses, cultural organisations and community groups to help our Poet Laureates deliver workshops, events and creative projects across the Island. Every contribution, whether financial, practical or voluntary, will help create more opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and participate in poetry.

Get Involved

The Isle of Wight Poet Laureate programme is about bringing poetry into everyday life, creating opportunities for people to connect, share stories and discover the joy of creative expression. We want the role to reach beyond traditional literary spaces, finding its way into classrooms, community centres, local events and unexpected corners of the Island.

We welcome opportunities to collaborate with schools, charities, community groups, businesses and cultural organisations who would like to work with the Poet Laureate. Whether it's a poetry workshop, a special event, a community writing project or a poem celebrating a local occasion, we're always interested in hearing new ideas and exploring ways to work together.

We also hope to encourage more Islanders to discover poetry for themselves, whether as readers, writers or simply people with stories to tell. You don't need any experience of poetry to get involved, just a little curiosity and a willingness to give it a go.

If you have an idea for a project, would like to invite the Poet Laureate to an event or are interested in supporting the programme, we'd love to hear from you. Together, we can help make poetry a lasting and meaningful part of Island life.