2024 Poetry Competition Results

(left-to-right) - John Brown (highly commended), Neil Dickinson (3rd), Julian Cappelli (winner), Claire Dyer, Michael Ranes (2nd), and Terry Adlam.

Claire Dyer said it was an honour to be asked to judge our 2024 competition. She liked the open theme and the variety of subjects and styles that were created as a result.

She said that the poems that stood out for her were those that followed Emily Dickinson’s advice, “tell all the truth but tell it slant”.

She then talked about the four winning poems, what she liked about them and what, in some cases, would make them even better.

·        Highly commended – John Brown for The Day My Knees Gave Way – an honest account of grief and the tragic loss of a life partner

·        Third place – Neil Dickinson for LIGO – an original view of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory

·        Second place – Michael Ranes for Tongues of Sweet – an account of the darker side of “gentlemen’s clubs” in the far east

·        First place – Julian Cappelli for Golden Years – a poignant look at fatherhood