The Superhero Project Wins Awards

The Superhero Project  launched by Michael Rosen this summer is not a sentimental notion. Of the ten attendants to The Superhero Workshops  two have been shortlisted in national writing competitions:  The Foyles Young Poets Prize and The Wicked Young Writers Award.  One of them, Robert Marston,  won the former and the other will be announced by judge Michael Morpurgo later this year at The Appollo theatre in London.

The Superhero  Project is a series of poetry workshops and art activity  for look after young people in care in Ealing.    The work has been led by Caroline Bird and myself the artistic director. The average attendance figure was ten.

I know of guitarists from famous bands,  famous actors and TV presenters, top lawyers,  brilliant poets,  television executives,  magazine editors, national  journalists, famous singers,  millionaires, star novelists and  Olympic medalists  who were all looked after children.   And then there’s the fictional ones,  Harry Potter,   Superman, Spiderman, Lyra Belaqua,  Cinderella ,  The X men, Oliver Twist , Matilda, James Bond, Lemony Snicket, Celie from The Colour Purple, Moses…..the list is endless.  They too were fostered, adopted or  parentless. There needs to be a radical rethink on what young looked after people are.

Young looked after people  employ extraordinary skills to deal with extraordinary situations. As we see it the sky is the limit. The idea to send the poems from The Superhero Project workshops   to competitions was originated and pursued by my  peerless colleague Caroline Bird. A book, The Superhero Project,  published by First Story  will be launched on November 24th at Horizons in Ealing.


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