County's youngest ever poet laureate named

Freddie Barker said she wants people from all walks of life to get involved with poetry

A student has been named Worcestershire's youngest ever poet laureate - despite admitting she only started to like poetry when she got to university.

Freddie Barker, 22, was awarded the title by the Worcestershire Literary Festival to compose poems for special events held in the county.

The Worcester University student was ecstatic to be given the special position and vowed to show poetry is an art form for everyone, from any background.

"There's some myth-busting to do - my goal is to bring poetry into the forefront of Worcester’s creative scene. We have beautiful murals, we have buskers and musicians, but we don’t have a lot of poetry in our day-to-day lives,” she said.

A panel of judges deliberated over three finalists for the role and Ms Barker said: "It was surreal, I was so happy just to make it to the final and to have that on my CV."

It was not until she arrived at university that Freddie started to enjoy poetry herself.

“I was a bit scared off by GCSE poetry, but when I came to university, I joined the poetry society and found I really loved the community and the people," she explained.

“Being at the University of Worcester has genuinely opened so many doors for me, it has changed everything, from my confidence to my ability."

The film and screenwriting student has a busy year ahead, with events including performances at the Ledbury Poetry Festival Celebration Day and Worcester Fringe.

The year-long tenure is awarded by the Worcestershire Literary Festival and it was set up by the Fringe Community Interest Company to promote literature and poetry across the region.