The results of the 2008 Academi Cardiff International Poetry Competition were announced at a floating ceremony aboard cruise vessel Seren Y Bae on Tuesday 3 June 2008. 

 

Rose Flint (pictured) from Wiltshire sailed away with the first prize of £5000 for her poem The Field. Judges Jo Shapcott and U A Fanthorpe commented that her poem ‘practically jumped out of the pile, fuelled by its own energy and exuberance. The poet has caught precisely the explosive force, the juice and joy, the spectacular and unreasonable diversity of growth in a single patch of ground’. Rose Flint is a multi-award winning poet as well as an artist and art therapist. She teaches Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes at Bristol University. Rose describes herself as ‘a long term Green’ and is involved in local sustainability projects. Her fourth collection of poetry will be published this summer by Avalon press.

 

Second prize was awarded to Cardiff poet Anna Wigley for her poem Cuttings. Anna, who works for George Thomas Hospice Care, has published two collections of poetry and has a third coming out in 2009. Elaine Gaston, from County Antrim who is currently completing her MA in Creative Writing at the prestigious Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, was awarded third prize of £250.

 

The winners were awarded their cheques by National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke as part of the floating ceremony in which the top three prize-winners read their winning poems against the beautiful moving backdrop of Cardiff Bay. Gillian Clarke, who has judged the competition in the past, read some of her own work including some of her city poems written during her time as Cardiff’s Capital Poet.

 

The five runners-up in the competition, each receiving £50 are: Sue Butler from Hertfordshire, Mario Petrucci from Middlesex, Kathryn Simmonds from Hertfordshire, Judy Brown from London and Marlene Rosen Fine from New York. Two of the competition’s runners-up, Judy Brown and Marlene Rosen Fine, are no strangers to success in the Cardiff International Poetry Competition as both have been awarded prizes in the last two competitions.

 

Peter Finch, Academi Chief Executive, said: “The Academi Cardiff International Poetry Competition marks Cardiff out from other new capitals in its international reach and especially in its achievement. Winning is a much sought after honour.”

 

The 2008 competition also proved successful for the Welsh publishers with both Kathryn Simmonds and Rose Flint having been previously published by Seren and Anna Wigley by Gomer.  

 

During this event Academi launched the 2009 Cardiff International Poetry Competition, which sees continued financial sponsorship from Cardiff Council. The judges for 2009 will be renowned Barnsley poet Ian McMillan and Texas based poet Kurt Heinzelman.

 

For more information on the 2008 or 2009 competition contact Academi on: 029 2047 2266 / post@academi.org or visit www.academi.org/cipc where you can also read all of this year’s winning poems.