Constable of St Helier wins first Alan Jones poetry prize

Constable of St Helier wins first Alan Jones poetry prize

The Constable of St Helier’s poem Reach was chosen from almost 100 entries in the competition’s adult category as the winner of the Alan Jones Prize, named in memory of the Jersey poet, inspirational teacher and writing mentor who died in 2013.

Second place went to Juliette Hart and the third prize was awarded to Traci Lynn O’Dea.

In the 14-17 age group, first prize was won by Lola Gardiner (14), second prize by Ellie Harris (17) and third prize by Ana Silva (14). Winners in the nine-to-13 age-group category were Ayden Bristol (13), Faye Peters (12) and Poppy Pendergast (12).

The cash prizes will be presented by international poetry star Lemn Sissay, the London Olympics laureate and current Chancellor of the University of Manchester, as a prelude to his own Opera House performance at the Jersey Festival of Words on Thursday 27 September.

Mr Crowcroft said receiving the Alan Jones Prize would have special resonance for him.

‘It’s special because Alan Jones was a person I knew well,’ he said. ‘I was at the beginning of my teaching career at Hautlieu when I used to attend the poetry group that included him which was run by Linda Parkes.’

Although Mr Crowcroft – who has won the Jersey Evening Post Writing Competition on numerous occasions and was long-listed in the National Poetry Competition in 2016 – was reluctant to reveal full details about his poem before it is read out next week at the Opera House, he added: ‘Like a lot of the stuff I write, the poem has its roots in personal experience, but hopefully that’s changed and transmuted into something more than a personal event that happened in the past.

‘There are lots of choices you make when you write poetry, particularly around form. This poem is written in nine three-line verses without rhyme.’

The competition entries were judged by Rod McLoughlin, the former States cultural development officer and former Jersey Arts Centre director, poet, playwright and festival committee member Jacqueline Mézec, and former Jersey Evening Post editor Chris Bright.

Mr Bright, who is also a co-founder of the Festival, said: ‘The first year of this new opportunity for Jersey poets has been a great success, with a large entry and a very high standard overall.

‘One of the aims of the Jersey Festival of Words is to help generate new work by writers with their roots or their home in the Island, so we are delighted to have added a platform for poetry to the well-established JEP Writing Competition for short stories and flash fiction.’

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