Two graduates from the MA Creative Writing course at Bath Spa University have been recognised in this year’s Bridport Prize.
Daisy Behagg was named winner of the prestigious Bridport Prize for Poetry 2013 for her poem The Opposite of Dave.
The Creative Writing graduate won the £5,000 prize having come runner up in the Edwin Morgan Prize and Highly Commended in the Bridport Prize in 2012.
Daisy currently lives in Bristol and is completing her first collection of poetry. Her work has previously been published in The Rialto, Poetry Wales, The North, Ambit, The Warwick Review, Poetry Salzburg Review and New Linear Perspectives.
Judge Wendy Cope said: “The Opposite of Dave made me laugh out loud the first time I read it and smile every time I thought of it. They say that funny poems don’t win competitions. Well, this one did. But it isn’t just a funny poem. It is saying something about women and their relationships with men that many readers will find recognisable.”
In addition to Daisy’s success another graduate, Virginia Ashley was Highly Commended by the Bridport Prize and also won the Dorset Award. The Dorset Award is specifically for Dorset writers and awards £100 to the highest placed Dorset writer in the Bridport Prize each year.
The Bridport Prize is one of the top competitions for new writing, with entries coming from as far afield as Eritrea and Estonia.
Patron of the Bridport Prize, Fay Weldon CBE, spoke of its significance saying: “Mention the Bridport Prize and the eyes of writers everywhere light up. It’s not just the money – though that’s not to be sneezed at – it’s a prize really worth fighting for in terms of prestige and genuine literary accomplishment.”
Fay Weldon CBE was appointed as Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University in 2012 and is one of Britain’s most influential, best-read and versatile writers.
Commenting on Daisy and Virginia’s success, Dean of the School of Humanities and Cultural Industries at Bath Spa University, Professor Steve May said: “Bath Spa has long been recognised as nurturing top quality new novelists. These awards clearly show that our poets are now getting the recognition they deserve, and signal the growing importance of poetry at the University.”
The Creative Writing course at Bath Spa has been running for over 20 years. During that time it has become one of the most successful and popular in the UK. Course tutors are themselves respected writers and their links with the publishing industry are invaluable to graduates.
