Mslexia

Mslexia, the magazine for women who write | www.mslexia.co.uk

Competition winners 2008

Jane Satterfield

It’s always great to find out that a poem you’ve written has hit home with readers. I’m a longtime admirer of Jo Shapcott, so it’s a special thrill to know she liked the poem. As a dual national whose mother grew up in Corby, I’m especially honored to receive a prize from a magazine and competition based in the UK. 'The War Years' is important to me in that it helped me think through and bring together my impressions of a troubling decade of war and politics that has left its mark on us all. I’m grateful to Mslexia for the opportunities this competition brings to so many women poets in the UK and beyond.

Read Jane Satterfield's winning poem: The War Years

SARAH ROBY

I’m delighted this poem has been chosen. I won the Mslexia Poetry Competition in 2009 and exciting things have happened since. I like that in competitions like Mslexia’s, the entries are judged anonymously and so it’s about the strength of the word on the page.

'Oedema' is a narrative poem and so borrows from the privileges of both poetry and prose. I’m in thrall to this form and in particular to the work of CD Wright. I’ve recently completed a book-length poem on the working holidays taken by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore in Happisburgh, North Norfolk. This was the focus of an MA in Creative Writing for which I graduated with Distinction. I’ve also been awarded a grant from Arts Council England to support work towards a first collection.

I live in Norwich with my husband and my son who are – as luck would have it – the two best people in the world.

Read Sarah Roby's winning poem: Oedema

JANE McKie

I'm so delighted to win third prize in this year's Mslexia Poetry Competition. I'm a great fan of the magazine, over the years it has become a companion in the lonely business of writing, making me feel just that little bit more connected to women with similar obsessions! That the prize comes so quick on the heels of success in the Edwin Morgan International Poetry Competition is amazing, I can't believe my luck. Last year I was down in the dumps about the progress I wasn't making. It just goes to show that writing, especially the writing business, is a roller coaster, and you have to be prepared for the troughs as well as the (wonderful) peaks in confidence. It makes me doubly determined to stick with it. Thank you, Mslexia.

Read Jane McKie's winning poem: Archipelago

Poetry Competition page

Jo Shapcott's essay