A teenager has seen off competition from over 6,000 poets from across the world to claim a prestigious prize.
Lyra Davies, from Caerphilly, has been named a top 15 winner in one of the world’s largest literary competitions for 11 to 17-year-olds, organised by The Poetry Society.
The 14-year-old was the youngest of the group to be selected, and the only poet from Wales.
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award was held at the Royal Festival Hall as part of London Literature Festival on Tuesday, October 17, where 100 winners were selected from over 11,000 poems submitted from far and wide.
Writers from 89 different countries entered the competition, including Azerbaijan, Myanmar, Syria and Zimbabwe.
Lyra was recognised for her poem Topography of an Apple, and said: “I’m still quite surprised by all of this. It’s simultaneously overwhelming and very exciting, because up to now I’ve perceived the world of poetry as abstract, rather than as a tangible experience I can share with other people.
“I’m very excited to meet like-minded people at the awards ceremony, but am also anticipating a diversity in the approaches to poetry of the other winners, and even though the competition is over for this year, I just feel more inspired to enter in 2018.
“It’s just nice to observe that carrying a notebook around for the better part of one’s childhood really does pay off, in more ways than imaginable.”
Judges Kayo Chingonyi and Sinéad Morrissey selected 100 winners, made up of 15 top poets and 85 commended poets.
Mr Chingonyi said: “I was particularly struck by the number of poems that reflected on the complexities of living at this particular moment in time rather than taking their cue from poems and contexts of the past.
“Lines from some of the poems pop into my head every now and again.”
All winners receive a year’s youth membership of The Poetry Society.
The society continues to support winners throughout their careers providing development opportunities and access to a paid internship programme.
The top 15 poems will be published in a printed winners’ anthology from March 2018.
Congratulations – well done.
Fantastic achievement.