2008 Competition
The winners of the Buxton Poetry Competition 2008 were announced at a special awards evening held at the Devonshire Dome at the University of Derby Buxton on Thursday 10 July 2008.
Competition organisers, Buxton Festival and the University of Derby Buxton, were delighted to receive more that 1,000 poems from poets of all ages, from across the UK and abroad – including from the USA, Switzerland, Italy, France, Australia and the West Indies. The competition was launched on National Poetry Day (4th October), last year.
In the Open Category (for poets aged 19 and over) the results were:
- Winner: Lesley Saunders, from Slough. With her entry entitled Rill
- Runner-Up: Ama Bolton, from Somerset. M is for Water
- Runner-Up: John Gallas, from Leicestershire. Molecule Bikes to the Springs
- Highly Commended: Ann Alexander. The Polio Pond
- Highly Commended: Anthony Watts. The River...
- Highly Commended: Sian Tower. Sough.
In the Children’s Poetry category (for poets aged up to 11) the results were:
- Winner: Kristy-Ann Wilson, 11, from Cardiff. I Will Take Over the Earth
- Runner-Up: Martyn Bonham, 11, of Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire. The Flood (From the Water’s Perspective)
- Runner-Up: Eloise James, 10, from Reading. The Mermaid
- Highly Commended: Chess Law, 10, from Ballymena, Northern Ireland. The Sea
- Highly Commended: Oliver Turner, 8, from Shropshire. Osprey and Gull.
In the Young People's Poetry category (for 12 to 18-year-olds) the results are:
- Winner: Harry Hudson, 12, of Headington, Oxford. The Necromancer
- Runner-up: Zaib Nasir, 13, of Addlestone, Surrey. Whispering Sea
- Runner-up: Emily Middleton, 18, of Buxton. Water 2058
- Highly Commended: Caitlin Robbins, 13, of Twickenham. Rain in Richmond
- Highly Commended: Sian Hughes, aged 17. Strong as Heartsong (Water not War)
Competition patron Lady Jasmine Cavendish, daughter of the Duke of Devonshire, presented the winning poets with their prizes. Over 100 people, including the Mayor of High Peak, Robin Baldry, gathered at the ceremony.
Dean of the University of Derby Buxton, David Gray, said: “The event was very positive, a great celebration of creativity and a chance for the University to show it does more than meets the eye. What better way to enrich the local community than to join forces with the Buxton Festival at the launch of the 2008 festival.”
Lesley Saunders, winner of the Open Poetry category, was awarded £250 for her poem Rill. Ama Bolton received £150 for Second and John Gallas £50 for Third Place.
Young People’s Poetry and Children’s Poetry category winners shared a total of £310 in Waterstone’s prize vouchers. Winners also received complimentary Buxton Festival event tickets.
Buxton Festival Chairman Glyn Foley said: “We are delighted at the standard of entries to the Buxton Poetry Competition. We were particularly pleased to welcome some of the winners to Buxton last night for the awards ceremony.”
The three outright category winners will have their poems published in the 2008 Buxton Festival programme.
The finalists’ poems in each category will be exhibited around the Dome at the Buxton Campus during the Buxton Festival from July 9-27.
Visitors will be invited to vote for their favourite poem in the ‘People’s Choice Award’. The winner of this special prize will be announced in August.
