ClassicsFest returns with new writing challenge
Can you emulate Cicero by making a persuasive case for £300?
In an age of online rage and snarky ‘banter’, is there still a place for reasoned argument?
The answer, implicit in that opening sentence, surely must be yes.
But have we lost the knack, if indeed we ever had it? Is the ability to make a powerfully persuasive case now the preserve of the most effective barristers, politicians and academics?
ClassicsFest, which made its debut last year, is returning from May 15 to 17 with a new theme of performance and politics sparked by the ideas of Marcus Tullius Cicero.
But ahead of it comes an immediate call for speeches in the style of the great Roman orator.
Anyone can have a go. The key question is: “Can you make a persuasive argument to win £300?”
Cinzia Hardy, who initiated the festival devoted to the classics, insists you don’t have to know anything about Cicero to enter the competition (although a quick Google probably wouldn’t go amiss, or even recourse to the printed page).
Always one for throwing down a gauntlet, Cinzia says: “As part of ClassicsFest we invite writers to rise to the challenge of writing their own new argument on a topic important to them.
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“Using contemporary issues, the speech (between 1,000 and 1,500 words) should be aimed at stimulating action and persuading an audience.
“What has this got to do with Cicero?
“Cicero was famous for his persuasive political oratory. He was, however, a self-made man who rose through the ranks of Roman society to become a Consul and join the nobility purely on the strength of his ability to make an argument.
“He put forward ideas about the best forms of government and the rights of citizens while negotiating the final turbulent years of the Roman Republic.
“He was a man of integrity at a time dominated by lies and corruption. Does this sound familiar? Can you be a modern Cicero?”
The gift of the gab ultimately couldn’t save Cicero who came to a sticky end in 43BC, aged 63, but his legacy far outlived him. According to one academic in modern times, he created the language of the civilised world.
Last year’s inaugural ClassicsFest competition called for dramatic monologues in the style of Ovid’s Heroides (The Heroines) with the winning entry, by writer Kirsten Luckins, performed at the Lit & Phil by actress Jackie Phillips, directed by Cinzia.
This year’s competition is open to anyone based in Tyne & Wear, Northumberland or County Durham who is over 18 on the date of submission.
You can submit as many speeches as you like on a topic or topics of your choice, although Cicero wrote on matters that still resonate today, such as bribery and corruption in politics, fairness in business, social inequality, the accountability of public institutions and how citizens should behave towards each other.
Cinzia says speeches can be set in the modern world or in any fictional context or time.
She adds that Cicero provided a great model for building a persuasive speech and suggests the following three step approach.
1) Presentation of the issue or topic.
2) Contextualisation of the issue or topic (for example, the social, political, economic, historical, personal or collective factors surrounding it).
3) A call for a decision, action or resolution.
A judging panel will choose up to eight of the best submissions which will be presented to an audience (either by the writer or an actor) at Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle, on May 17 at 2pm.
The audience will then vote for two winners who will each receive a £300 cash prize and there will be small prizes for the runners up.
This will be followed by a discussion with the writers and a panel at the Lit & Phil, festival headquarters, at 6pm.
Submissions can be made any time from February 3 and must be received by noon on March 17.
There’s a cover sheet to fill in that must be submitted with each entry but your name should not appear on your script in order to ensure blind selection by the adjudicating panel.
Further information and cover sheets can be accessed via the Lit & Phil website.
Sounds fun. I did Classics A level at Carlisle Grammar in the 1960s and we used to come across to Newcastle Uni to take part in 'declamatory' competitions in Greek and Latin run by the Classics department. Have completely forgotten it all by now!!!