| NPA 2005 |
Somerset
poet Lawrette Williams.
A Somerset grandmother has won one of the biggest poetry prizes of the year. £1,000 and a magnificent trophy have gone to Lawrette Williams of Drayton for becoming the UK poetry champion 2005 in the annual competition run by United Press.
Lawrette's winning poem Child In a Train, is her description of an incident which happened to her many years ago. It was chosen after a lengthy selection process, and is reproduced here along with a sample of work from other regional winners.
From tens of thousands of entries from people all over the UK, United Press pick around 250 regional winners every year and put them into the annual National Poetry Anthology. Each one of those 250 winners then votes for the best poem in the book.
"To be voted for by so many prize-winning poets is the best and fairest way to win any competition," said Lawrette. "That's why I'm so delighted that they chose me. When I got the phone call to say I was the winner, I was in total shock and disbelief. Receiving the trophy and cheque was wonderful but winning the competition means more to me than that. It's the thrill of a lifetime."
Lawrette (71) has written poetry since childhood. Born in Portsmouth, she was a pupil at the Royal Academy of Music in London and later became a speech and drama teacher. She has written two musicals and many poems, one of which she presented in person to the Queen.
Lawrette is a widow with two children and three grandchildren. Although disabled with arthritis she maintains many interests and is very active in her local church group. "I intend to spend my prize on a holiday," said Lawrette, who has already travelled around the world, and has lived in many countries with her late husband, Peter, a Royal Marine Officer, including Bahrain, Singapore and Malta.
"The competition is free to enter and is designed to encourage new poets," said a spokesman for United Press. "We have received entries from people aged 9 to 99." If you want to enter the next National Poetry Antholgy, send up to three poems (20 lines and 160 words maximum each) to United Press, Admail 3735, London, EC1B 1JB (0870 240 6190) by the annual closing date of June 30th.
Each poet listed is a winner in his or her own right. Their poems were selected as winners for their town or area in a free-to-enter annual competition which featured many thousands of entries. The winners are grouped into various regions. If you do not find a winner from your locality this is because insufficient entries were received from that area.
CHILD
IN A TRAIN
You
cannot buy me child, with your winning ways
Coy, with your dimpling curls,
Coaxing the expected smile.
How
well you play the tricks to catch my glance
And snare my heart.
That pout,
The teasing turn,
The sudden pool-blue flashes through
Honeysuckle lashes.
I wait and so do you.
Then I decline your invitation,
As I might deny the fawning dog a pat,
Push away the smarming cat.
You, your repertoire exhausted, reward withheld,
Drop the pretence of being only three,
And from your ageless eyes now fixed on mine,
The woman in you glares at me.
Lawrette
Williams, Drayton, Somerset
SCATTERED
SOIL
I felt her breath even closer
Than the sweetpeas I dropped upon her coffin
Now resting within the earth.
These were her flowers and I brought them
From her garden, she blushed with colour.
Without her, the seasons will melt into one
And become, an adjacent trinity.
The earth that I now scattered upon her
Was once her foothold
And infinitely sure
She walked upon it
Until infinity
Drew in her scent
And floundered
For she was lovely,
And when the angels welcome, or whoever comes to greet,
May they welcome in,
A guardian
Who will lead the apostles
To find the earth and goodness
Closer than the darkness
Of scattered soil.
Andrew Woodhouse, Ripon, North Yorkshire
"SUMBARINE"
when
you look up at the night sky in hebden bridge
you count streetlamps instead of stars
we bought a half of bells at the co-op
and I drank it in a bus shelter
as the pulp and enamel gears of her mouth
performed an act of northern hospitality
our grandmothers would've thought impossible
she even took off her hat
in her friend's attic we smoked a fingernail's worth
and listened to the beautiful pennine rush
of white noise on the radio
static following the naked moors
like a tongue along skin
we watched the skylight fill with rain
till everything was underwater
morning found us drowned
clinging to the fronds of streetlamps
waiting for the tide to bring buses
Shaun Shackleton, Guernsey, Channel Islands
DEPLETED
URANIUM
What shall I tell my dying son, how shall I best explain
The tired and tawdry trading of the hangman and his whores,
The sordid and the seedy sale of slow insipid slaughter,
With profits for the corporate pimps from cancer-coated wars?
And home of the Enlightenment, how shall I best explain
The ironies of progress and the shadows in the sand;
What shall I tell my dying son, he's just collateral damage
As drawn out, war wrought, listless deaths advance the Rights of Man?
John Kelsall, Dunoon, Scotland
MAMA'S
WAR
I feel at ease with your familiar face
The trials of life mapped in your skin
Bewildered I watch as you trace each peak and furrow
Fingers worrying, worrying.
How strange you say
You who had clung to youth so tenaciously
Had come to look this way
You were now officially old.
I tell you, wrinkles happen, enjoy them
That you've earned each one
Think of them as monuments of memories
Of life's little ups and downs
Think of them as some old some new.
Smiling at the wisdom of one so young
At the hint of challenge in those words
And as if taking up the gauntlet
You tilt your chin to the light
And with dogged determination
Hang that face out there.
Rosalyn Cosentino, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
SONNET
Day-long my daughter has defied the sea:
breasting the big waves; racing rollers home
to Crawford Tartan and a flask of tea.
Sand has been her playmate. Alone, she's roamed
the known horizon: cool pools to hot dunes;
skipping across her tracks, a brazen beach
girl, followed heel on heel by pleasure runes.
At four, half-seen through sand-steam (beyond reach),
she taught me how to surf late fatherhood.
At eight - fed, tented and down-deep in sleep -
her salted hands reached out, clasped mine (that should have held her over
every wave). But steep
tsunami of dream took them, then, to seize
her found necklace - a little piece of sea.
Tim Noble, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
THE
SEA
The sea resounds within my skull
as though within a shell
- a restless susurration -
surging deep, relentlessly
retreating and returning.
Never ending waves
swirl to cleanse and scour,
snatching and hurling
- detonating caves,
eternal ebb and flow.
Beguiling blue beneath reflected sky,
gleaming, the sea remains
untamed, rippling with latent power -
a mighty creature poised to lash
with towering wave, the disrespectful,
or drag below with clinging undertow.
Unseen, the current snakes across the bay.
Hazel Davies, Porthcawl, Wales
Regional Winners
SOUTH EAST
BEDS:
Ann Ireland, Luton, Louise Mills, Leighton Buzzard, Rosalyn Cosentino,
Dunstable.
BERKS:
Juliet England, Reading, Tracy Briggs, Slough.
BUCKS:
Kevin Saving, Winslow, Anne Reynolds, Beaconsfield, Archie Wilson, Widmer
End.
ESSEX:
Susan Rosamund Ganley, Colchester, Joan Stanton, Saffron Walden, Paul Clark,
Westcliff-on-Sea, Tim Noble, Leigh-on-Sea, Jeremy Allan-Smith, Great Holland.
HANTS:
June Bond, Liss, Frances Sweeney, Emsworth, Freya Bryant, North Baddesley,
Barry Froggatt, Romsey, E V Brooks, Southampton, Robert Lambert, Alton,
Elizabeth Strand, Petersfield, Tanya Neave, Waterlooville. Rowan Harrop,
Southampton, Lorna Stark, Yateley, Jennifer Arnold, Alton.
HERTS:
Sylvia Goodman, Watford, Richard Robinson, Welwyn Garden City, Mukaddes
Gorar, St Albans, Janet Erskine, Royston, Rosemary Anthony, New Barnet.
ISLE OF WIGHT:
Cyril Hudson, Cowes.
KENT:
Thelma Vandridge, Chatham Historic Dockyard, Philip Moss, Whitstable, Vic
West, Rochester, Wendy Holmes, Herne, Rebecca Hammond, Dover, Steve Coots,
Tunbridge Wells, Chris Calvert, Sittingbourne, Lucy Rhodes, Hythe, Trevor
Lawrence, Maidstone, John Solomon-Clarke, Rochester.
GTR LONDON:
Matthew Wilkinson, London, Felicia Bolton, Shepperton, Jacky Radclyffe,
London, Kaye Lee, Muswell Hill, Jodie Portugal, Hayes, David Erdos, London,
Simon MacCulloch, Edgeware, Paul Jeffery, Harrow, Anthea Bennett, London,
Julie Jeana, Bermondsey, Declan Sweeney, Vauxhall, Mary Ann Ranken, London,
Tara Anjali Short, Harrow, Jonathan Attrill, Barnet, Saz J Lass, London.
OXON:
Gwilym Scourfield, Bicester, Raymond Start, Banbury, Alison Jones, Oxford.
SURREY:
Pat Mear, Croydon, Mary Ellis, Purley, John Treneman, Claygate, Alwyn Marriage,
Guildford.
SUSSEX:
Andrea Bradbury, Lancing, Richard Rhodes, Brighton, Margaret Wilmot, Polegate.
SOUTH WEST
CHANNEL
ISLANDS:
Shaun Shackleton, Guernsey, Annie Parmeter, Jersey.
CORNWALL:
Alan Robinson, Mawgan Porth, Crispin Williams, St Ives, Rebecca Platt,
Truro.
DEVON:
Jason Kenny, Torquay, Ian Walkington, Tavistock, Kirsten Freiesleben, Crediton,
Paul Teed, Sidmouth, Janet Beardsall, Ottery St Mary.
DORSET:
Robin Waite, Shipton Gorge, Sheila Newman, Christchurch, Janine Vallor,
Bridport, Barbara Ellis, Blandford Forum, Barry Ferns, Poole, Brian Harris,
Bridport
GLOS:
Jacqueline Cockram, Dursley, Katie Redman, Gloucester, Janet Illingworth-Cooper,
Gloucester.
AVON:
Isabel Cortan, Bristol, John Evans, Weston-Super-Mare.
SOMERSET:
Frances Lowe, Bridgwater, Jovie Harfield, Farrington Gurney, Margaret Castle,
Wedmore, Mike Elliott, Cheddar, Peter Cooper, Yeovil, Helen Moore, Radstock, Lawrette
Williams, Drayton
WILTS:
Kieran Davis, Swindon, Suzie House, Devizes, Brenda Lee, Swindon.
EAST ANGLIA
CAMBS:
Rex Collinson, Cambridge, Martin Chester, Huntingdon, Lucy Lewis, Cambridge.
NORFOLK:
Tony Carter, Attleborough, S J Robinson, Downham Market, Andrea Tallarita,
Norwich.
SUFFOLK:
Joseph Wells, Hadleigh, Yvonne Allen, Ipswich,Elizabeth Walker, Needham
Market, Stephen Studd, Felixstowe.
EAST MIDLANDS
DERBYS:
Alkan Fisher, Buxton, Emma Bebbington, Chesterfield, Tricia Mitchell, Bradwell,
Janet Newstead, Ilkeston.
LEICS:
George Lovett, Measham, Elaine Whitesides, Melton Mowbray, Therese Bradshaw,
Sileby, Phil Fox, Leicester, Mo Ward, Hinckley, Mary Cooper, Loughborough.
LINCS:
Stephen Emmerson, Louth, Michael Hoadley, Spalding, Angela Horton, Skegness,
Daniel Ellin, Lincoln, Bill Becker, Grimsby.
NORTHANTS:
Maurice King, Higham Ferrers, Faith Bricher, Northampton.
NOTTS:
Dorothy Barlow, Long Eaton, Rob Bingham, Newark, Hilary J Cairns, Retford,
Martin Bloomfield, Nottingham.
WEST MIDLANDS
HEREF:
Ursula Mills, Hereford.
WORCS:
David Parker, Kidderminster
SHROP:
Kath Shaljean, Oswestry.
STAFFS:
David Brunskill, Stafford, Colette Horsburgh, Stoke-on-Trent, Patricia
Edwards, Tamworth.
WARKS:
Frances M C Harvey, Rugby, Stephanie Codsi, Leamington Spa.
WEST MIDS:
Ros Murphy, Birmingham, Glyn Jones, Solihull, Glenda Bennett, Stourbridge,
Claire Boylan, Coventry, Ann Wallace, Wolverhampton, Christina Philpott,
Kingswinford.
NORTH WEST
CHESHIRE:
P G Horton, Macclesfield, Lisa Boucher, Altrincham, Brian Bovington, Stalybridge,
June Hindley, Northwich, Sheila Parry, Blacon, Stephanie Dickinson,
Hartford, Winnie Pat Lee, Hale.
CUMBRIA:
Glen Caldock, Carlisle, John Boyd, Whitehaven, Daniel Elsworth, Ulverston,
Tracey Turner, Barrow-in-Furness, Dorothy Coxon, Coniston, Kate Calico,
Kendal.
LANCS:
Michael Ward, Lytham, Helen Melrose, Blackpool, G Richard Hall, Morecambe,
Lesley C Rutter, Fleetwood, Hayes Turner, Preston, Rachel Adamson, Nateby,
Katherine Farrimond, Ormskirk, Laura Sheridan, Burnley, Vicky Hozaifeh,
Chorley.
GTR MANCHESTER:
Christine Fairclough, Worsley, Jackie Taylor, Rochdale, Gary Morris, Bolton,
Beryl Davies, Eccles, Colin Halsall, Wigan, Dave Hughes, Cheadle, Clair
Rooney, Stretford, Scott Charles Blakeley, Middleton, Elaine Speakman,
Crumpsall, Heather Ferrier, Failsworth.
MERSEYSIDE:
Dorothy Burgess, Crosby, Eugenia Kelly Viner, Liverpool, John Reynolds,
Birkenhead, Joan Mercer, Formby, Peter Ben Davies, West Kirby, Margaret
Gleave, Southport.
NORTH EAST
CLEVELAND:
Nick Luke, Middlesbrough, Amy Bell, Acklam.
COUNTY DURHAM:
Brenda Whitelock, Chester-le-Street, Sue Percival, Durham City.
NORTHUMBERLAND:
Trish Clark, Cramlington, Laura Scott, Hexham, Carlotta Miller Johnson,
Morpeth, Christine McEwen, Birtley.
TYNE & WEAR:
Annie Moir, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Kathleen Potter, South Shields, Juliett
Branche, Sunderland, Roger Harvey, Whickham.
EAST YORKS: Nina Hanney, Goole, Sheelagh Harrap Taylor, Hull, Margaret
King, Hull.
NORTH YORKS:
Rev Andrew Woodhouse, Ripon, Nicola Louise Dixon, Boroughbridge, Louis
Kitchen, Whitby.
SOUTH YORKS:
R A Morley, Doncaster, Charlotte Harrison, Oughtibridge, Judith Sanders,
Rotherham, Richard Green, Barnsley, Jennifer D Wootton, Sheffield.
WEST YORKS:
Eddie Purcell, Holmbridge, Naomi Willard, Huddersfield, Elizabeth H Hopkinson,
Clayton, Sandra Harrison, Pudsey, Stephanie Stafford, Brighouse, Philip
G Kirk, Bradford, David Wheatley, Leeds, Emma Turner, Wyke, Susan Darlington,
Leeds, Ken Frankland, Pontefract.
WALES
Janet Hughes, Montgomery, Parveena Mano, Ammanford, Amy Bowen, Abermule, Frances Blockley, Llanidloes, A G Tovey, Pontnewydd, Graham Jones, Garden Village, Hazel Davies, Porthcawl, David Peters, Newport, Jan Davies, Porthcawl, Philip F Hughes, Wrexham, Simon Smith, Port Talbot, Liz Black, New Radnor, Kishli Laister-Scott, Cowbridge, Martin Taylor, Penrhyn Bay, Rebecca Lowe, Swansea, Caroline Clark, Aberystwyth.
NORTHERN IRELAND
R Stephens, Banbridge, Margaret Johnston, Hazelbank, Marcus Gilmore, Portadown, Scott Boldt, Belfast, Sharon Truesdale, Newtonards, Gavin Weston, Kircubbin, Margaret Cameron, Belfast
SCOTLAND
Sarah Wilson, Edinburgh, Hamish M Brown, Burntisland, Lesley Atkins, Glasgow, Harvey Duke, Dundee, Deirdre McAuley, Wishaw, Peter Robinson, Coaltown of Balgonie, Leyna Hunter, Dunfermline, James Watters McKean, Sauchie, Josephine Duthie, Aberdeen, Heather Innes, Blairgowrie, Tina Harris, Ellon, Elaine Kelly, Dalry, John Kelsall, Dunoon, Hannah Bateman, Denny, Penny Hemans, Stonehaven, Val Pvhler, Falkirk, Alan Gay, North Berwick, Steven Loveland, Moray, Dr George Carle, Tighnabruaich, Kate Armstrong, Dundee.