The Poetry Society (National Poetry Competition 2007)

Sinéad Morrissey is the winner of the 30th National Poetry Competition.

Judges E.A.Markham, Michael Schmidt and Penelope Shuttle were unnanimous in choosing 'Through the Square Window' as the winning poem for the National Poetry Competition 2007.

The Poetry Society were very sad to learn of the death of poet Archie Markham who died on 23 March 2008 in Paris.

The Marketing Manager, Lisa Roberts, who had been in recent correspondence with Archie as one of the National Poetry Competition 2007 judges expresses the Poetry Society's sadness at the news.

"I spent the most wonderful lunchtime with Archie and the other judges, Penelope Shuttle and Michael Schmidt as part of the judging day, in Manchester in February this year and I have to say I felt extremely privileged to be in the company of such knowledgeable and passionate people, not just about poetry but everything. I will always have a prevailing memory from that lunch of Archie talking with great passion and pride about the thing he loved so much, poetry and his tremendous admiration for his fellow poets. I am very glad to have had the opportunity to get to know such a lovely man."

"That my poem found its way on an anonymous basis is quite amazing, that it has spoken up for itself amidst the clamour of all those other voices".

Listen to Sinéad (2007 first prize winner) and Michael Hulse (first ever winner in 1978) explain what winning the competition meant to them, as well as Rosemary Norman (2007 second prize winner) and Fleur Adcock (one of the first judges in 1978) comment on the value of the National Poetry Competition, live at the award ceremony on Thursday 27 March at the October Gallery.

Sinead Morrissey

Click on the player above to listen to 'Through the Square Window'

Sinéad Morrissey was born in Northern Ireland in 1972. She has published three collections of poetry with Carcanet Press: There was Fire in Vancouver (1996); Between Here and There (2002); The State of the Prisons (2005). Her prizes include The Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry (1990); an Eric Gregory Award (1996); the Rupert and Eithne Strong Award (2002); the Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize (2005) and a Lannan Literary Fellowship (2007). Both Between Here and There and The State of the Prisons were shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize. She is a lecturer in creative writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Queen’s University, Belfast.

Rosemary Norman took Second prize with her Poem 'The Hairdresser from Beirut' . Click on the player to listen to Rosemary read her poem.

David Kennedy took Third prize with his poem 'Encore, Mr Fox'