Judging has officially ended...
A massive thanks goes out to Caitlin Kendall, who has been this year's Judge. She's been fantastic every step of the way, and we're absolutely delighted to have welcomed her to Hexham Poetry's inaugural competition and hope to work with her on some exciting poetry ventures in the future.
Thank you to everyone who sent poems; we appreciate every single poem we read and are very thankful for your support.
We're delighted to publish the over-18's longlist below.
All the category winners, highly commended and commended will be announced on Saturday, 1st July! Well done everyone and thank you again!
Longisted Poems 2023
Hilary Elder - A PORTRAIT OF MY CAT
Martyn Halsall - Memory of Rain
Steve Pottinger - single dolphin at Chanonry Point
Pratibha Castle - Imagining the comfort of a dog’s nose,
Charlotte Oliver - Lesson
Alexandra Price - An anatomy of abuse
Suzanna Fitzpatrick - Greenhouse
Emma Purshouse - Baiting Up
Karan Heppell - Letting go first
Mary Warner - In Memoriam JA
Christian Ward - Viewing boats with my father
Lottie Tweed - Clotted
Hilary Elder - The Patience of Women
Tina Cole - The Art of Knitting
Patricia Defty - Loggerheads
Petra Hilgers - Tante Anna’s never read anything by Irina Ratushinskaya
Penny Blackburn - Instructions for Excising the Bad Man
Alison Leach - A hat that was never worn
Hilary Elder - WHY THE LAKE DISTRICT IS NOT THIN
Martyn Halsall - Islands
Ann Heath - Lessons from my grandma
Emma Purshouse - Victoria Returns to Public Engagements - Wolverhampton, November 30th 1866
Joanne Harrison - Home
Karen Heppell - Borderland
Paul atten Ash - Lines from a Hermitage
Daniel Moreschi - Binding Breaths
Geraint Ellis - I run with Dad.
Carole Bromley - Controlled Explosion
Megan Cartwright - Phantom/Pantoum
Maggie Davison - Saint Etheldreda
Stan George - Certa Cito
Deborah Finding - allies in the workplace
Ilisha Thiru Purcell - Rock, paper, scissors
Glen Wilson - Stag, Amsterdam
Sophia Murray - When you live in a place so long you forget it is beautiful
Petra Hilgers - My Somali neighbour
Suzanna Fitzpatrick - Two Boys i.m. Alan Kurdi, September 2015
Jennifer McGowan - Mercy
Claire Lynn - Colossal Wreck
Ali Rowland - Mam on Demand
Ruth Lexton - Year of the Rabbit
Ellen Zhang - FORSYTHIAS BLOSSOMING