It was a lovely evening on Sunday at the Gloucestershire Writers Network event at the Cheltenham Literature Festival - as always, superbly organised by Rona Laycock. We had a very appreciative audience for our readings and the pleasure of hearing judge Phil Kirby's poetry afterwards. And I'm delighted to say that, as the winner of the poetry section, I'm once more the keeper of the Dursley Hare for twelve months! His origin seems to have disappeared in the mists of time but he's a delightful little statue and comes along with the monetary reward (which, I'm glad to report, does not have to be passed on to the next winner!). Last time I had the hare sitting on my desk he proved a very lucky writing mascot, so I'm hoping for a repeat performance this year.
This morning I was invited to read my winning poem and to talk about my writing on Corinium Radio, along with Judith van Dijkhuizen and Derek Healy, both runners up in the poetry section, and Graham Bruce Fletcher, a runner-up in the prose competition. The theme this year had been "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" and it was fascinating to see the different angles from which people had approached it, with poems on such varied topics as a disabled father giving away his daughter at her wedding to non-native giant conifers, and short stories told in such diverse voices as those of a weary Russian emigree and an unmanned drone!
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