Flotsam and Jetsam and Mrs Potts win awards

Secondary students from Auckland and Hastings have scooped the two top prizes in the 2008 NZ Post National Schools Poetry Awards, which were held at a ceremony in Wellington on Friday, 22nd August.

Manon Revuelta (17), of Epsom Girls Grammar School, was awarded Best Poem for her entry, Flotsam and Jetsam, while Sonya Clark (16), of Karamu High School, Hastings, won Best Lyric Poem for Mrs Potts.

As Best Poem winner, Manon received a state-of-the-art notebook and a cash prize of $500. Sonya also received a $500 cash prize and her poem, Mrs Potts has been adapted and recorded into a song by acclaimed musician Samuel Flynn Scott, of The Phoenix Foundation. It has also been produced as a music video and is available on iTunes.

The winners were selected from a short list of six finalists announced earlier this year.

Also picking up a prize was Kerrin Davidson from St Andrews College, Christchurch, who was recognised for her teaching of Creative Writing.

Celebrated poet Paula Green, who judged the Best Poem award, said Manon’s Flotsam and Jetsam; representing a portrait of an old woman, had its origins in the “swarming memory bank” of the poet.

“The result is a fresh, intelligent and moving example of how we might translate people we know, and aspects of the world we inhabit, into poetry. I loved delving into the exquisite layers of this poem, as much as I loved finding my way around its mysterious spaces,” said Ms Green.

Speaking after the win, Manon Revuelta said the award came as a total surprise.

“When I first found out I didn’t believe it. When the news sank in, I felt great. It’s a thrill to have my work recognised with this prize,” said Manon.

Samuel Flynn Scott, who judged the Lyric Poem entries, said Mrs Potts was a unique and ambitious poem for any age, let alone for a 16-year-old.

“The poem showed wonderful maturity, yet kept the message simple and was all the more poignant for it. A few brave metaphors mixed with an intimate but non-explicit sense of locality had me instantly engaged,” said Mr Flynn Scott.

“It is an inherently ‘New Zealand’ poem, but not self consciously so. Its NZ character, however, has nothing to do with it winning – that is all down to the clever understanding of the English language this young poet has shown.”

John Allen, NZ Post chief executive said, “The number of entries and their high quality bodes very well for the future of poetry in NZ.

“I look forward to hearing of many more successes and accolades in the years ahead for these two winning poets and their fellow finalists.”