The borough’s best poets were announced at an awards ceremony in Walthamstow this week
The borough’s best poets were announced at the Waltham Forest Poetry Awards which took place on Tuesday (8th December).
1,000 poems from nearly 500 poets who live, work or study in the borough were sent in for consideration.
T.S Eliot award nominated poet Jacqueline Saphra, judged the submissions, which she said were “very difficult” to not commend.
Saphra said: “Reading these poems reminded me again of the importance of friends in our lives, which is exactly what I hoped for when I chose the theme. It was a privilege to be invited to judge this competition and I had some very difficult decisions to make as my list of possible winners began to take shape.
“Once I actually caught myself wailing as I consigned one of those ‘nearly-made-its’ to the ‘no’ pile! I thank everyone who sent their poems: whether you won or didn’t win, please keep writing.”
The adult prize was awarded to Tusshara Nalakumar Srilatha from Walthamstow for her poem ‘I’m here in my body, and you’re over there in yours’. Tusshara’s poetry explores dynamics of belonging, the malleability of memory, and the interplay of human and non-human life.
Tusshara said: “When I moved to London, many of my cherished friendships became long-distance. Being in one another’s lives was no longer as easy as dropping by for a cup of tea (or hot cocoa). We turned to voice memos, calls, and texts instead.
“This poem took shape as a missive of gratitude and love to these friends who continue to hold me—whom I hope I hold too—from a distance. When writing this, I wove in conversations and memories, real and imagined, from different friendships.”
Meanwhile, the local young poet prize went to 16-year-old Isabella Halford from Chingford for ‘There’s just enough magic’.
Isabella said that the inspiration for her poem was her best friend Eli, who recently went to a different school, leaving her with “a bigger void” than she thought it would, in turn opening her eyes to the power of their bond. The idea of magic came from the fact that Isabella believes we “too often get trapped in mundane routine and dismiss the magic around us as ‘normal’”.
She advises: “We need to open our eyes, appreciate and see the magic all around us!”
You can read the full list of winners and their poems here
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