In the bicentenary of the first publication of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'Kubla Khan', the Friends of Coleridge invited poets to enter poems for a prestigious celebration of this visionary poem under the theme, 'Imagined Worlds'.
The awards to the winners were made on 21st October, 2016, Coleridge's 244th birthday, at CICCIC, Taunton.
Adult section.
First Prize: Kate Innes, Flocks of Words
Runner-up: Jane Kite, Lecture
Runner-up: John Barron, On the Day of her Retirement the Lift at the Angel Tube Station Speaks
Junior section.
Equal First prize: Allison Chen (17), Whispers not of Gray
Equal First Prize: Julia Pope (17), Strolling in the Neighbourhood
Runner-up: India-Amethyst Thakrar (13), Utopian Dreams
The judges were:
Gregory Leadbetter. Gregory is a well-known poet and lecturer, and Vice-Chair of the Friends of Coleridge. Read more about Gregory and his work at http://gregoryleadbetter.blogspot.co.uk/
Liz Cashdan. Liz is a poet who has written a sequence based on Coleridge and his circle. Her most recent collection is Things of Substance: New and Selected Poetry (Five Leaves 2013). Find out more about Liz at http://www.lizcashdan.co.uk/
Ian Enters. Ian is a poet with three publications to his name; translator of Anglo-Saxon poetry and performer at the British Museum; novelist with two novels published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson; and dramatist of musicals and opera. He was until recently Chair of the charity Reading Matters.
The Friends of Coleridge are grateful to the Arts Council; Somerset Artworks, Somerset Film, Sedgemoor District Council, University of Birmingham School of English and many other supporters for their help in enabling the year's celebrations to take place.
