Adjudicator Abegail Morley has awarded this year’s Prize to
Lesley Saunders for her poem ‘Torc’. Abegail says of this poem: ‘It has
precise, exquisite language; the word choice is perfect and the poet is
completely in control. It is a tight, rich, well-observed piece that was always
near to the top of my pile.’
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First runner-up is Beth Somerford with ‘For the Children’, a
poem described by Abegail as ‘simple, yet complex and multi-layered; a truly
visceral piece that captures the physical perfectly.’
Second runner-up is Mark Fiddes with ‘In the Valley of the
Fallen’ – a poem that ‘makes you sit bolt upright’.
Other poets shortlisted were Neil
Elder with ‘Open-Plan’, Richard Hughes with ‘Wee Wee Hours’, Martin Malone with
‘Truman on Ischia’, Helen Overell with ‘Shelter’, Vivienne Tregenza with ‘Water
Bearer’ and Josie Turner with ‘The Small Hours’.
All shortlisted poems will be published in the September
issue of The Frogmore Papers,
available post-free from The Frogmore Press, 21 Mildmay Road, Lewes BN7 1PJ at
£5 per copy.
