The Luis Cernuda Poetry Competition returned this year for its third edition, celebrating the art of poetry recitation across several languages: Spanish, French, Ancient Greek and Latin. The event opened with Ms Saavedra and Mr Martin Albalat, who set the tone of the evening with a short recital of poems by Cernuda himself.
Sixteen students then took to the stage, demonstrating impressive confidence, linguistic precision and sensitivity to the texts. The programme featured a rich selection of poets, and works by Baudelaire, Catullus, Virgil, Alejandro Romualdo and Alfonsina Storni were brought vividly to life with extraordinary results.
We were delighted to welcome external judges from other schools, who commented on the outstanding standard of the performances and the enthusiasm shown by all participants.
The winners of this year’s competition were:
Leo F. – Latin (Lower School)
Olivia M. – Latin (Sixth Form)
Josh G. – Greek (Lower School)
Lucinda L. – French (Sixth Form)
Olivia F. – Spanish (Lower School)
Emilia A. P. – Spanish (Sixth Form)
Congratulations to all the students who took part for their commitment, courage and artistry in bringing poetry to life. The competition continues to grow as a vibrant celebration of languages, literature and performance within our school community.
Luis Cernuda was a Spanish poet and writer, born in Sevilla in the 20th century. A poet and a homosexual, he had important connections among the literary world in Spain and Europe, including Federico García Lorca.
After the Spanish Civil War started (1936), he was advised not to return to Spain due to his political and personal views. He subsequently stayed in England and worked as the Spanish Language Assistant at a lovely boarding school nestled near the Surrey Hills called CRANLEIGH SCHOOL. If you are interested, I wrote an article about his life and his time here — it is only in Spanish, but online translators work well.
