Bardic Seat of Caer Dur Contest Rules

Applications close: 9pm Friday 22nd August 2025

The Bard of Caer Dur is a community based voluntary role and as such offers no financial compensation. There will be support offered throughout their tenure by Peter Roe - the Second Bard of Dorchester and The Jawbone Collective CIC.

Please see bottom of page for a breakdown of the application process.

1. Eligibility:

• Open to poets, singers, and storytellers living in or connected to Dorchester and the surrounding area of West Dorset.

• Entrants must be over 18 years of age.

• To be considered, you must be available to attend the live final on 14 September 2025, 2–5 pm, at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester.

2. Requirements:

All entrants must first submit their expression of interest by email to bardofdorchester@gmail.com

They will be sent an application pack, asking for basic details and reason for application. These will then be independently evaluated and up to 6 finalists will be chosen.

If you are selected as a finalist, for the performance, you will be allotted 10 minutes to speak and address both the audience and the judges. Within that 10 minutes, you must include the following:

• An Introduction to Yourself and Your Bardic Manifesto: Tell us how you would use your voice, platform, or presence over the year. This could be local engagement, performance, collaboration, writing, education, mischief - anything!

• Your Original Piece: A piece of any genre, form, or theme - this can be performed in any way you choose. We want this to show off you and what you love writing and performing about.

• Dorset and You: A work that connects in some way to Dorset’s writers, artists, or landmarks. Tell us which figure or place you've engaged with and why. You can choose to do this as a reading of a pre-existing text that links well to your other works, an interpretation of a text in the form of a song, a new poem that pays homage to Hardy etc. All we ask is that the connection with Dorset and its literary and artistic heritage is celebrated and featured prominently.

• Additional Piece of Original Work - In the event of a ‘Tie’ the entrants will be asked to perform a second piece of their own work (up to 3 minutes in length). This is an ‘own choice’ piece and can be on any subject.

  
  Note: All pieces should be ‘family friendly’, avoiding expletive. We are a rights respecting organisation that believes in the freedom of expression but expect our performers to avoid racist, sexist, ageist or divisive language.

  We do not support any submissions or work generated by AI. This competition celebrates human creativity, voice, and lived experience.

3. Performance:

All three main pieces will be performed live at the competition event in front of an audience, which will take place on Sunday the 14th of September 2024 at 2pm, Dorchester Corn Exchange, High East Street, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1HF

The order of participants will be determined by a random drawing of names from a hat.

4. Judging Criteria:

- Originality and creativity.

- Quality of performance and engagement with the audience.

- Relevance to the theme and connection to the local culture and heritage.

- The vision of their Manifesto and desires for their tenure.

The judges for the 2025 competition will be revealed in due course. As current Bard of Caer Dur and Grand Bard of Dorset, Molly Dunne and Peter Roe are impartial and have no say in the outcome. They are available to provide support for all entrants.

5. Ceremony:

The winning entrant will be invested with the Bardic Robes, crowned with a fresh laurel, and their will be a short ceremony where they will be sworn in and they will repeat ‘The Bardic Oath’. On completion of the ceremony the New Bard will be asked to perform their additional piece before the ceremony is brought to its conclusion.

6. Prizes and Commitments:

• The winner will receive the title Bard of Caer Dur (Dorchester) and will serve for a year and a day. The New Bard will have the opportunity to set the theme for the next year's competition and act as an ambassador for local arts and culture. They shall also receive responsibility for the Bardic Robes during their tenure.

• The New Bard will receive a free one year pass to The Dorset Museum and Art Gallery as well as a Free Place to attend a Jawbone all day workshop during their tenure.

• The New Bard will have a 10 Minute Headline slot at Jawbone @ The Poet Laureate on the 23rd of September. They will also have a headline slot at Bardfest in Bridport in August 2026.

• The New Bard will receive a ticket to attend a UK based poetry workshop with The Jawbone Collective during their year in office.

• The appointed Bard will be supported in delivery of their manifesto. Eg. they will be given help to find opportunities for performance and workshop delivery in the local area as well as other aspirations they hold.

• There is a requirement for the New Bard to perform at up to four public facing events in Dorchester and the surrounding area of West Dorset during their tenure. These could involve workshops with partner organisations, open mics and other public events. We would hope that the the New Bard will also help to find and create future opportunities for others who hold The Bardic Seat in the future.

The New Bard will be joining a line of Bards who are committed to the development of the The Bardic Seat of Dorchester.

There is a desire to create a ‘Bardic Purse’ through fundraising and grant applications in order to support the ideas and aspirations of the New Bards in the future.

The Bards of Dorchester will be supported over the next five years by the Jawbone Collective and The Grand Bard of Dorchester. There is an aspiration that the Bardic Seat becomes a civic role for the town on Dorchester in the future.

7. Application Process: - a questionnaire which should only take up to 30 mins max to fill in.

• All entrants must first submit their expression of interest by email to bardofdorchester@gmail.com - They will be sent an application pack.

• All parties are required to fill out an application in order to assess their eligibility for the Bardic role and to be offered a performance place. There are three main questions for you to answer 1. What does the word "Bard" mean to you? 2. Why would you like to become The Fourth Bard of Dorchester and what would you bring to the role? 3.What is your connection to poetry, writing and performance, and what makes your work distinct or necessary?

• Entries can be submitted as text, audio or video (if accessibility or performance aids your submission). An accompanying form including admin details must be received as well.

• A maximum of six people will be selected to compete for The Bardic Seat.

• The management committee of The Jawbone Collective will choose up to six performers who will compete for the Bardic Seat.

• Applicants will be informed by the 27th of August if they have received a place in the competition

• Selected finalists will receive feedback and support in the weeks leading up to the event, from the current Bard of Caer Dur, Molly Dunne, and Grand Bard of Dorset, Peter Roe.

• Those who are unsuccessful may reapply the following year.

Molly's Debut Collection of Verse and Prose

Blood on the Bramble

Molly is a masterful word-saving-wizard, lyrically combining nature and the human condition In this beautifully crafted collection. As she casts her words she will leave you truly spellbound. Her powerful voice is not to be reckoned with. Blood on the Bramble is a book for every enchanted writer and dreamer.*

Charlotte Faulconbridge

Author, Poet, Cheltenham Slam Champion 2025, TEDx Speaker