Student Poetry Prize 2022: Winning Entries

In July 2022 the University held a formal inauguration ceremony for our chancellor, Imtiaz Dharker.

To mark this momentous occasion, current undergraduate and postgraduate Newcastle University students were invited to submit a poem on the themes of diversity and belonging. Thank you to everyone who submitted a poem.

Entries were judged by Neil Astley, Editor & Managing Director of Bloodaxe Books Ltd, and award-winning Pakistani-British poet, Moniza Alvi.

The winning entries receive a prize of £250 each and the opportunity to read their poems at the Chancellor's Inauguration celebratory dinner. The winning and highly commended entries will also be featured in the poetry pamphlet, given to guests on the day.

Congratulations to:

	Winner for the poem 'Pass' Kitty Martin, MA Writing Poetry, Poetry School   An actor, theatre maker, communications coach, and poet. Drawn to stories hidden in history, Kitty is currently crafting a series of page and found sound poems from family archive and Manchester Jewish Museum’s oral history collection. Her poetry sound installation will premiere at Newcastle University’s forthcoming Arches Sound Project.
	Winner for the poem 'Coastal Home' Michael Brown, MPhil Creative Writing, School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics  Michael’s first collection, Where Grown Men Go, was published by Salt in 2019.  In addition, his pamphlets Undersong (2014) and Locations for a Soul (2016) are available from Eyewear Publishing and Templar respectively.   His work has recently been published in Magma, Poetry Wales and Poetry News.
	Highly Commended for the poem 'Rough' Leanna Thomson, BA (Hons) English Literature, School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics Leanna Thomson is a Cumbrian poet who was shortlisted for the Terry Kelly Poetry Prize in 2020 and published in Newcastle University’s undergraduate anthology this year. She was also Out Of Your Head’s first runner up in April. Leanna’s work draws largely on her own life experiences.

The judges also gave special mentions to: Jim Lloyd, for Home; Amelia Loulli, for Bed Fourteen; and Mary-Jane Holmes, for Geneaolgy.