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Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry Competition Winners
On Saturday 26th November we announced the winners of the Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry 2024. The overall competition was judged by award-winning poet Katrina Naomi and the new Sonnet Prize was judged separately by Jodie Hollander, who is based in Arizona. You can read more about the judges here and read the full shortlist here but we’d like to tell you more about the competition winners this year.
First Prize | ‘American Eclipse Sonnet’ by Miruna Fulgeanu
First prize was awarded to Miruna Fulgeanu for her poem ‘American Eclipse Sonnet’ which you can read here.
Katrina said “‘American Eclipse Sonnet’ stood out for me very early on. I admired the poet’s taut language, fine imagery and their confidence in choosing to write a 15-line poem and state ‘this is a sonnet’. There’s a bravery in this, someone prepared to take risks, which is important in writing. The poem has the feel of a sonnet, it holds itself like a sonnet but with a little expansion. The quiet of sleep being compared to ‘entering a blackbird eye’ is wonderful. This poem is way more than ‘OKAY’. I’m delighted to choose ‘American Eclipse Sonner’ as the winning poem in the Patricia Eschen Poetry Competition. It’s a poem that offers more on every reading.”
Miruna Fulgeanu is a Romanian-born poet and translator based in London. Her work has appeared in Poetry London, The Yale Review, perverse, The Rialto, Berlin Lit and Basket among others. She is the winner of the 2023 Oxford Poetry Prize, and a member of the Southbank Centre New Poets Collective 2024-25.
Second Prize | ‘The Whales’ by Julio Trujillo
Second prize was awarded to Julio Trujillo for his poem ‘The Whales’ which you can read here.
Katrina said ” I read many, many poems in response to the sea, The Whales, which I’ve awarded second prize, gave me surprising new perspectives on the ocean. Here’s a poem where waves choose whether or not to make decisions, and where sound is all important; we learn that whales are ‘titanic baritones’. I loved the energy, sonic exuberance and momentum of ‘The Whales’. This is a poem which kept calling to me in a way I couldn’t ignore. “
Julio Trujillo was born in Mexico City in 1969. He has been a publisher for the last 30 years, in charge of literary magazines, cultural supplements and the publication of many books. He has written ten books of poetry and one of chronicles of life in Mexico City. All his books are in Spanish but he’s preparing an edition of selected poems translated to English. He has also begun to write directly in English, with not too catastrophic results! He moved to Cornwall three years ago, where he lives with his wife Lucy and his newborn son, Max.
Third Prize | ‘Aged twenty-nine she buys her first running shoes’ by Abigail Ottley
Abigail Ottley was awarded third prize for her poem which you can read here.
Katrina comments, “This poem has a strong narrative and restless arc, which perfectly fits a prose poem. The poet takes us on several journeys, journeys of learning and of metaphor. The sense of place is evocative, the sense of moving on powerful. I found myself running alongside, willing the narrator on.”
Abigail Ottley writes poetry and short fiction. Over ten years, her work has featured in more than two hundred and fifty magazines and journals, most recently Twisted Ink and the Cornish edition of Inkfish. It will also appear in the inaugural issue of Aspier magazine. This year, Abigail placed second in the Plaza Prose Poem Competition and won the Wildfire 150 Flash Award for the second year running. Twice commended in The Page is Printed and What We Inherit From Water, as well as commended in the Welshpool Poetry Competition, she is both a Pushcart and Best of the Net Nominee and a member of Cornwall’s all-female Mor Poet Collective. Her debut collection will be published by Yaffle’s Nest in May, 2025. Abigail lives in Penzance.
Sonnet Prize | ‘After the biopsy’ by Kyle Potvin
The Sonnet Prize was awarded to to Kyle Potvin for her poem ‘After the biopsy’ which you can read here.
The Sonnet Prize judge, Jodie Hollander, said, “What impressed me most about this winning sonnet was the seemingly effortless movement of a compelling narrative within the structure of the sonnet form. The rhymes were natural and unforced, and served to both heighten and lighten the emotional impact of the subject matter. Accessible and compelling within a beautiful musical structure, this poem thrust its reader into a powerfully immediate emotional experience. A true gem!”
Kyle Potvin’s debut full-length poetry collection is Loosen (Hobblebush Books, 2021). Her chapbook, Sound Travels on Water, won the Jean Pedrick Chapbook Award. Kyle’s poems have appeared in publications including Bellevue Literary Review, Tar River Poetry, Ecotone, Verse Daily and The New York Times. She is a peer reviewer for Whale Road Review. Kyle lives in the USA.
Vale Martin Crosfill
The library recently lost another good friend in Martin Crosfill. Martin passed away on 9th September at the age of 94. He joined the library back in 1978, and during that time was a loyal volunteer, supporter and friend. Martin served as a Library Trustee, and at various times held each of the Officer posts with the exception of Treasurer (for which he was extremely grateful!). Most recently, until 2019, Martin was our Honorary Librarian, providing inspiring and generous support to Lisa, our present Librarian, as she negotiated her way into the unique world of the Morrab six years ago. He organised the lecture series, chaired the Book Selection Committee, and organised themed book displays. Martin also started the Morrab book fairs which became a national event in the booksellers’ calendar. He organised a Spanish Armada symposium – a three day event with lectures by experts from all over the country – as well as theatrical evenings with music and poetry. He always rolled up his sleeves and worked incredibly hard, sending out letters, putting up posters, organising festival evenings, moved an inordinate number of books up and down the stairs before the days of the lift, and even helped clean the drains .
Even in retirement from holding a Trustee role, Martin continued to volunteer until 2023, teaching himself the dark art of Excel spreadsheets so he could contribute to adding our paper-based archival index to the National Archives DISCOVERY catalogue. Throughout the Covid lockdowns he would ask the librarian for projects he could complete at home to ‘maintain his sanity’ as he put it, and generated a prodigious number of spreadsheets for us, returning in person as soon as he was able. He also attended the weekly Shakespeare classes at the library until April this year. A dedicated bibliophile, Martin was always full of fun and exciting ideas , with many stories to tell of his time working as a surgeon in the Scottish Isles and here in Penzance, and hosting many parties at his home in Heamoor with his late wife Jean.
He was a loyal friend and cared for his friends and the staff at all times, giving them voice even if he disagreed with them. He will be greatly missed by so many of us.
Rebecca Harvey and Lucy Sparrow – new installations for their Artist Residency at The Morrab Library
Throughout 2024, ceramicist Rebecca Harvey and poet Lucy Sparrow have been working on a collaborative artist residency at The Morrab Library. Their work has responded to the setting and is a dialogue between their respective practices: poetry and porcelain. When visiting the Library, you may have read Lucy’s poem, ‘a living library’ etched into Cornish China Clay slip on the window of the Rees Room, or paused in the Literature Room to read ‘The Archivist’.
These pieces are still on display and have now been joined by two further installations in the Art Room and Natural Sciences Room.
In the Art Room (on the ground floor), you will find a new and rather unique sculpture ‘Porcelain Sound Box’. For this piece, the pair were joined by Lucy’s son and composer Fintan O’Hare.
The ‘Porcelain Sound-Box’ is constructed from discarded ceramic fragments chosen from Rebecca’s studio by Rebecca and Fintan, with the aim of finding objects with particular sound qualities and resonance. These are struck by electric motors with the order of the sounds loosely based on conversational interaction; each motor gradually increasing or decreasing in speed, and continuing, interrupting or imitating the previous sound. The work requires the listener to press the START button to initiate a sequence of sounds. Each sound sequence lasts a few seconds and is different each time it is played.
Lucy has accompanied this piece with a haiku. She says:
“Cornwall has had a long association with the China Clay industry and The Morrab Library has a large collection of primary and secondary sources relating to this subject. In addition, the use of porcelain in musical instruments dates from around the 8th century. Being Cornish, and with a keen interest in music and local history, I relished the opportunity to spend time in The Morrab Library exploring these subjects and to create a poem that focussed on the resonance of sounds within porcelain and linking it to the environment from which it was originally sourced.
The accompanying poem is written in the form of a haiku, and the few carefully chosen words aim to compliment the complex dynamic art work from which it took inspiration. As the poet I saw this fragile interactive sculpture tapping into the hidden voice of granite. I am very grateful to the support of the librarians at Morrab library and their curation of a wide range of texts relating to the subject of Cornish China-clay in my research for this piece of work and to my co-collaborators Rebecca and Fintan.”
There is a notebook beside the installation to write your thoughts, feedback and comments about the piece.
Upstairs in the Natural Sciences Room, Rebecca Harvey has installed a bowl, made of a piece of bark, mounted on a wooden plinth. She is asking members and visitors alike to write, on the piece of paper provided, why they think The Morrab Library is a special place and leave it in the bowl.
She writes:
“The Morrab Library is often described as a ‘special place’. Do you have a favourite room? Or thoughts about what makes The Morrab Library special to you? Please contribute to artist in residence Rebecca Harvey’s research into the popular phenomena by writing your thoughts on the pieces of paper provided and popping them into the bark bowl below”.
Rebecca will then make these pieces into a Morrab ‘thought book’ which will be on display towards the end of their Residency in December.
