The winners of the Roman Bath’s poetry competition have been announced today.
Congratulations go to 11-year-old Eloise Yeadon Caiger and Lesley Saunders whose winning poems wowed the competition’s judge Dr Carrie Etter, senior lecturer in creative writing at Bath Spa University.
The competition, which ran until 18 November, followed a poetry evening at the Roman Baths in October. Entries were accepted in two categories: under-16s and over-16s.
Entrants were encouraged to seek inspiration from Roman life and their own experiences of the Roman Baths, which is run by the Council.
Eloise Yeadon Caiger won the under-16s category with her poem “The Water of Sulis Minerva” after visiting the Roman Baths on the poetry evening, and Lesley Saunders’ poem “Sculpsit”, inspired by Roman inscriptions, was the winner of the over-16s category.
Dr Etter said: “The winning poems show just how inspirational the Roman Baths can be, both as a place and in its history. Now I’d like to write my own Roman Baths poem!“
Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib-Dem, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council is very grateful to Dr Etter for judging the wide range of quality poetry as part of the valued relationship between the Roman Baths and Bath Spa University. We hope that the winning entries will encourage even more people to visit the Roman Baths and get their creative juices flowing.“
The winning poets will be given a selection of gifts from the Roman Baths shop, and their poems are available to read online at http://www.romanbaths.co.uk and by searching for the Roman Baths page on Facebook.
