Nov 05 - Jackie Anderson Wins Top Prize In Autumn Poetry Competition

Written by YGTV Team on 05 November 2015.

Jackie Anderson took the top prize in this year’s Autumn Poetry Competition with her work “Fish Salters.”

The annual Poetry Competition, organised by Gibraltar Cultural Services, the Gibraltar Chronicle and the Department of Education, attracted a total of 298 entries.

The Minister for Culture, Steven Linares, presented the awards on yesterday afternoon at the John Mackintosh Hall.

Mr Linares said:

“The Poetry Competition gives another dimension to culture. This element adds alongside music, theatre, art and other established aspects the literary aspect of the Autumn Cultural Programme. I am extremely pleased with the high number of entries, but more importantly, with the quality of the entries.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in this venture, including the Gibraltar Chronicle, the Department of Education and especially the adjudicators, Mr Charles Durante and Mrs Concha Triay. However, I would like especially thank the many children who put pen to paper and in doing so allowed us to enjoy their excellent work.”

Adjudicator Charles Durante said: “School pupils and others have written challenging poems and tried out different forms of writing and experimenting in language to an extent which surpasses what we’ve seen in other years.”

Mr Durante also defended the writing of poetry and the humanities as a whole in response to a comment he said he heard from someone connected to the new University of Gibraltar to the effect that the humanities were “dead.”

“I was stunned and angered by this comment,” he said.

He said that just in the past week, Gibraltar had hosted Zarzuela performances and the launch of a history book and that anyone who made such a remark either “lived in a cocoon” or had their mind “addled by too much science.”

Alice Mascarenhas from the Gibraltar Chronicle said that all winning poems would be published. Ms Mascarenhas thanked Suzette Martinez, also from the Chronicle, for her help and support and gave her the bouquet of flowers which she normally receives every year.

The overall winner received a £300 cash prize and a trophy whilst the entry for the Best Poem in the Spanish language received a £50 cash prize and a trophy donated by the Ministry of Culture.

The winners in each school year category also received a trophy donated by the Ministry of Culture, as well as a £50 voucher and a pen kindly donated by the Gibraltar Chronicle.

Entries obtaining Runner-up Prizes and Highly Commended received their corresponding certificates from the Ministry for Culture and a pen also kindly donated by the Gibraltar Chronicle.