Dawn Gorman believes poetry should be everywhere - puts it on beermats, uses it to
work with people with memory loss, facilitates writing workshops, organises poetry
events and runs international poetry competitions. She is widely published, and has
performed in New York, Paris, London - and lots of smaller places in between.

“Poetry isn't a profession, it's a way of life. It's an empty basket;
you put your life into it and make something out of that.” Mary Oliver

Bradford on Avon Fringe Festival Poetry Competition 2011

First

Peter Wyton,

Silverback Snack

Second

Stephen Payne,

O.S.

Third

Graham Burchell,

Drifting

Shortlisted Entry

Bev Hewlett,

Belongings

Claire Coleman,

Recipe

BA15 Postcode Area Special Award

Bob Steel,

The Mirror

Belongings

by Bev Hewlett

Not a detailed memory,
not rich or ripe or saturated
with fascinating information.

No, underfed
in some particulars-
date, time, weather, exact location;
except, this is the hospital,
and you are dead.

No awkwardness, as I recall,
until this trap-door moment:
the red soap bag handed over (and signed for)
is so little of you. I fall;

the wonderless soap bag, with
the two false teeth (you never wore)
held to my waterfalling face.

This is my all.

Judge's Comments - Dawn Gorman

All poetry competitions inevitably, it seems, bring in a crop of poems about death, and ours was no exception, with one in five touching on the subject, but this one, quiet, simple, pulling no punches, I found overwhelmingly moving. Many will identify with that "trap-door moment". Straight from the poet's heart to that of the reader.