POETIC students from Waltham Forest have been chosen to feature in a new anthology of international poetry.

Lauren Lucien, 24, and Richard Newman, 34, both from Walthamstow, will have their work published in The Strand Book of International Poets, out later this summer.

Lauren, whose poem is about political correctness, found inspiration from her African Carribean background.

She said: "I wrote the poem after someone asked me where I was from.

"I’m British, of mixed race; my grandparents are English and Jamaican.

"It made me think about immigration in Britain and how the words we use about it are restricted by political correctness."

Lauren is studying creative writing and English literature at Kingston University and has been writing poetry since she was at Holy Family Technology College in Shernhall Street, Walthamstow.

She said: "I used to go to the library because my parents couldn’t afford ballet lessons.

"I read a lot and reading made me want to use language to express myself.

“The whole point about poetry is that it’s a positive way to express yourself. There just aren’t enough opportunities for young people to do that."

Richard has two poems in the anthology. Could I Walk Their Mountains was inspired by the four years he spent teaching English in Slovenia, while Snow Dogs But Not Huskies was written as a piece of coursework.

Richard who grew up in west London said: “I started as a hip hop rapper in my teens but hadn’t written any poetry for years.

"But now my poetry is more traditional.

"I would definitely like to be a properly published poet and I’m also aiming to have a collection of short stories published."