UPDATED: July 29, 2008
Fellows' Poetry Prize 2007 - Winners
The winners of the 2007 Competition are
1st Prize
Seeing Voices, Tony Flynn
2nd Prize
At the End, Kim Rooney
3rd Prize - Joint
Cat with Salmon, Peter Cash
My Fever, Simon Jackson
Honourable Mentions
Chapman's Homer, Molly Donachie
Trout, Duncan Forbes
Every Silence, David H.W. Grubb
Mrs Uomo Books her Hospital Appointment on Line, Danielle Hope
Devon, Candy Neubert
Euphemism, Twice, Malcolm Watson
What the judges said
After drawing up initial shortlists by email, there was no glaring agreement and the judges felt that face to face discussion would move things along. We met in Covent Garden's convivial Poetry Cafe, where verses were scrutinized, read aloud, championed and chewed over. There were just under three hundred entries including strong blank verse comedies, no haikus, a promising sestina and a few submissions which might be described as sentimental, one of which rescued the word (sentimental) from its pejorative usage. It was agreed that more experimental poetries were unrepresented. Surprisingly three of the four winners were examples of a highly distilled verse, narrow Giaccometti-like, pared to the bone forms and the fourth winner could barely be described as expansive. I personally took much pleasure from reading through the batch and felt there was a good collection therein. The winner of the first prize was clear. Those finishing behind were very closely bunched and honorary mentions seemed an honorable compromise to the three judges.
The prizes were awarded by the panel of judges - Robert Hampson, John Hegley and Carol Rumens - at the English Association's Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 21 May 2008, 5.00, The British Academy, Carlton House Terrace, London
Poet and Chair of Judging Panel John Hegley (centre) with winners Kim Rooney and Tony Flynn