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Based at The University of Edinburgh, the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum is part of the ESRC Genomics Network and pioneers new ways to promote and communicate social research on the contemporary life sciences.

Tuesday 28 September 2010

Genomics Forum Poetry Competition - update from Pippa Goldschmidt

This is truly an international poetry competition…

So far we’ve received about a hundred entries for the Genomics Forum poetry competition, and entries have come in from all over the world; from Uganda, Greece, New Zealand, USA, Malta, South Africa, Germany, Egypt, Australia…

This is terrifically exciting. One of the purposes of the competition is to get writers and readers of poetry to think about how an emerging understanding of genetics impacts on the way we see ourselves.


But people in different countries are exposed to influences that we’re not aware of in the UK. Different aspects of genetics resonate in different ways in different societies. Just look at the furore over the funding of stem cell research in the USA.

And writers in other countries write according to other conventions and are influenced by literary canons that we don’t know about here. The sheer wealth of literature in the UK means that we’re apt to be complacent here; we don’t read enough from other countries.

All this means that the entries to the competition shed light on new ideas, and they do this in ways that we’re not used to. So far, these insights have been fascinating, and the deadline for the competition isn’t until 7 October. I’m looking forward to receiving more entries!

For more info on how to submit a poem visit the Genomics Forum website >>

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