Published poets provide voice for the voiceless

Each year the South Australian English Teachers Association (SAETA) hold a Spring Poetry Festival, where teachers are invited to submit student work with the chance to be featured in the Spring Poetry Anthology.

This year Mrs Graziano’s Year 11 English Literary Studies class completed a unit of work on poetry which aims to provide a ‘Voice for the Voiceless’. Following their analysis of a variety of poems, students put their learning into action by composing their own creative pieces which drew on themes of social justice and equality. You can read about the internal competition Blackfriars held for the Year 11 poets here.

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A number of these pieces were recently selected for submission to the SAETA 2020 Spring Poetry Festival. I am proud to congratulate Adrian Carino (pictured above at left) and Joseph Snelling (pictured above at right) on their success in being selected for this year’s Spring Poetry Anthology. Joseph’s poem, Price to Pay, and Adrian’s poem, Threads, both challenge readers to think more critically about the true human cost of our society’s addiction to fast fashion and other mass produced consumer goods.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions SAETA will be unable to hold an event launching this year’s anthology. Instead, copies will be mailed to schools to distribute. All contributors will also receive a copy of the anthology as a keepsake and record of their exceptional work.

I’d like to commend all students on their significant effort and creativity and once again congratulate Joseph and Adrian on their incredible achievement.

Caitlin Graziano
English Literary Studies Teacher