Amanda Jones
10 September 2014: The winners of the inaugural University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor's Poetry Prize have been announced, with an Australian poet who now lives in Pittsburgh claiming the top prize.
The competition, one of the most generous of its kind in the world with a $25,000 prize pool, invited writers to submit a previously unpublished poem, in English— translations were not eligible—and up to 50 lines in length.
Judged from 1,050 entries from over 600 poets, the winners are:
* First prize ($15,000): David Adés for Dazzled
* Runner-up ($5000): Debi Hamilton for What big plans you have
* Shortlist: Lisa Brockwell for Blackout, Isi Unikowski for A Jokoban, Tim Robertson for Anima ex machina and Shevaun Cooley for Soundings
The world-class judging panel included leading Australian poets Jennifer Harrison, Brook Emery and Judith Beveridge, who selected a longlist of 58 poems, with UK-based TS Eliot prize-winning poet and head judge Philip Gross selecting the winner, runner-up and four shortlisted works.
Mr Gross said Mr Adès poem about poetry was "irresistible" and "a generous and subtle celebration of the way a poem can infiltrate itself, coming to fruition slowly, among the swarming details of a life observed with appetite."
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L-R: Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Design Professor Lyndon Anderson, winner David Ades and Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker. Photo: Amanda Jones |
Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker described the quality of entries as "outstanding" and thanked all the poets who submitted their work to the inaugural edition of this prize.
"This competition celebrates the enduring significance of poetry to all cultures, and highlights our commitment to excellence in creative writing in its various forms.
"While most entries were written by Australian-based poets, submissions were also received from each continent, and from across the region, including Southeast Asia and the South Pacific."
The prize is administered by the University's International Poetry Studies Institute.
An anthology of the 58 longlisted poems titled Dazzled including the winner, runner-up and four shortlisted poems is available here on the VC's poetry prize page.
About the winners
David Adès is an Australian poet currently living in Pittsburgh. His collection Mapping the World was commended for the Anne Elder Award 2008. His poems have been widely published and recently anthologised in Australian Love Poems, The Stars Like Sand: Australian Speculative Poetry and APoems 2013.
Debi Hamilton is a Melbourne writer, poet and psychologist. She has won several awards and commendations for her writing, and a number of her short stories, non-fiction pieces and poems have been published in various journals. Her first collection of poetry was launched by the Melbourne Poets Union in July 2013.
