Andrew Wynn Owen wins Lord Alfred Douglas Memorial Prize
He’s done it again! Mere months after being awarded the prestigious Newdigate Prize, Andrew Wynn Owen has now also won the Lord Alfred Douglas Memorial Prize for ‘the best sonnet or other poem written in English and in strict rhyming metre.’
The prize, open to students at Oxford University, required entrants to submit their poems anonymously, inscribing each page with a motto which could be matched up with their names and mottos in a separate envelope. Andrew’s winning entry was a section from his detective epic poem ‘The Adventures of Elmó Elmínus’. You can read it in full here and here’s a little extract:
‘Elmínus, in those days, was oft invited
Along to parties thrown by courtly friends.
He was the perfect guest – his name excited
Those lively spirits that good speech attends,
Which is the best of sprezzaturan ends.
He grinned, he sang, he sipped a vodka tonic,
His jokes were frequent and his humour chronic.’
In July, Andrew was awarded the Newdigate Prize for his poem ‘The Centrifuge’ and joined such noble alums as Oscar Wilde, Andrew Motion and one Rachel Piercey.
Publisher Emma Wright says: ‘The Emma Press published Andrew’s debut pamphlet, Raspberries for the Ferry, in March and we are incredibly proud and unsurprised that he is winning all these awards. He’s obviously brilliant and amazing, and I’m pleased that other people are recognising this.’
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Raspberries for Ferry is on sale for £6.50 in the Emma Press shop and we’re running low on first editions, so get your copy now!
Andrew is reading at the Southbank Centre on 3rd December as part of the Special Edition event celebrating Emma Press pamphlet poets. Entry is free but booking is essential. More details here.
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