Imogen Wade (born 1998) is an English poet from Harlow.[2] She won the National Poetry Competition 2023 for her poem "The Time I Was Mugged in New York City",[3] and the Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2024 for "Poem About Love".[4]

Biography

Wade grew up in Harlow, Essex, and went on to study English Literature at the University of Exeter, with a year abroad at Vassar College, New York.[5] She then trained as a person-centred therapist at the University of Plymouth, worked with a number of clients and agencies,[6] and has given insights in news articles.[7] In 2021, she contributed to an article in the Cosmopolitan about the rising statistics around women's suicide.[1] Wade lives with her husband in the South East of England.[8]

Wade began publishing from an early age, winning a commendation for a poem at the Foyle Young Poets of Year Award in 2015, judged by Liz Berry.[9] Ever since, she has won several accolades, having been named a Runner-Up in The Poetry Business's 2023 New Poets Prize for her pamphlet manuscript Fire Safety, selected by the poet Kim Moore,[10] and commended in the 2024 Moth Poetry Prize.[11][12] She was also named first prize winner in the Ware Poets Open Competition 2023,[13] and her poems have appeared in The Poetry Review, PN Review, The London Magazine, and elsewhere.[14] Occasionally, Wade has also organised free writing workshops.[15]

In 2024, Wade was named the winner of National Poetry Competition 2023 for her poem "The Time I Was Mugged in New York City", selected by the poets Jane Draycott, Will Harris and Clare Pollard.[16] This win got her considerable attention, with The Spectator blaming the organisation behind the competition, The Poetry Society, for having "betrayed poetry".[17] In a blog post, poet Courtenay Schembri Gray found the poem "woefully unambitious".[18] While The Spectator refuted the idea of Wade's poem being a poem at all, calling it "prose, printed in [a] central [block] on the page,"[17] the judges praised the "paradoxical lyricism" of the poem,[3] noting its strength in "skilfully and subtly open[ing] up the psychological complexity of [an] assault".[19] Written in response to "a real life experience", "The Time I Was Mugged in New York City" was one of 19 thousand poems submitted to the competition in 2023.[2] In an interview with the BBC, Wade noted that she was "very surpris[ed]" on receiving the news of the win, pointing out that she might now "by a domino effect" have profited "from the mugging".[20]

In 2024, Wade was also named the winner of the Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2024, selected by poets Jane Yeh and Glyn Maxwell, for her poem titled "Poem About Love". Yeh praised the work for its "sophisticated voice and compelling lines", and Maxwell called it "a heartfelt revelation of a poem".[4]

In October 2024, she was awarded a DYCP Grant from Arts Council England for A Poet's First Novel.[21] Wade's debut collection Girl, Swooning is to be published by Corsair.[8]

Books

  • Girl, Swooning (Corsair)[8]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b Innes, Catriona (10 September 2021). "Why are more women suicidal than ever before?". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Harlow woman wins National Poetry Competition". Your Harlow. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b Creamer, Ella (25 March 2024). "Poem inspired by New York mugging wins top prize in National Poetry Competition". Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2024". Coffe-House Poetry. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  5. ^ "About Me". Imogen Wade Poetry. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  6. ^ "About Me". Velaris Counselling. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  7. ^ Gornall, Lucy (15 October 2023). "CLEAR PICTURE The 12 things your brain fog can reveal about your health – and when to see a doctor". The U.S. Sun. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Imogen Wade". Lutyens & Rubinstein LLP. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  9. ^ "2015". The Poetry Society. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  10. ^ "The 2023 New Poets Prize Runner Up". The Poetry Business. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  11. ^ "€6000 Moth Poetry Prize shortlist revealed". The Irish Times. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Shortlist for 2024 Moth Poetry Prize revealed". The Bookseller. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  13. ^ "'Lyricism of an abduction': Imogen Wade's 'The Time I Was Mugged in New York City' wins National Poetry Competition". Write Out Loud. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Imogen Wade". The Poetry Society. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  15. ^ "Local poet runs free poetry workshops in Harlow". Your Harlow. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  16. ^ "National Poetry Competition". The Poetry Society. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  17. ^ a b Patmore, Angela (3 April 2024). "The Poetry Society has betrayed poetry". The Spectator. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  18. ^ Gray, Courtenay (Schembri) (7 February 2025). "Between Fire and Ice: Imogen Wade, The Spectator, and what traditional poetry looks like today". Courtenay's Corner. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Imogen Wade Wins the National Poetry Competition". The Poetry Society. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  20. ^ a b Walker, Peter; Jelly, Rob (13 April 2024). "Woman who won National Poetry Competition recalls 'blanking out'". BBC. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  21. ^ "Developing your Creative Practice - Round 21 funded applicants". Arts Council England. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  22. ^ "The Winners of the 2023 New Poets Prize". The Poetry Business. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  23. ^ "2023 Short List". The Plough Arts Centre. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imogen_Wade
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