Heritage Open Days Hull - Poetry Competition

	HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 2011 - POETRY COMPETITION
Does Hull inspire you to write poetry like Larkin and Marvell? If so, we want to hear from you. Following on from the success of our competition last year, we are again holding a competition to find a poem which has been inspired by the city. Negative or positive, personal or general, silly or serious, amateur or professional, we’d like to hear your efforts, as long as there is a link to the city.
2011
Civic Society's Colin McNicol presenting the £50 cheque to June Wentland in front of the Royal Station Hotel.	This year's winner was June Wentland for her updating of Larkin's poem about the Royal Station Hotel. To hear June reading her poem, click here. To hear June reading Larkin's original, click here. To see this year's winning entries, click here. Friday Night in the Royal (Station) Hotel 2011 The silence of Larkin's Friday night has disappeared; it seems his Whitsun weddings have stepped off the train. They throng in here for their reception, pushing loneliness out to the edges of the foyer. Yet after the photographs, the wine, the speeches, a touch of sadness still pervades under the silent hum of Wi-Fi. It's the not-so-young that catch the eye, dressed up to the nines, somehow outshone by the dazzle of their own clothes, upstaged by their own best shoes. Larkin knew about mortality, learned the advantages of quiet attire, of anonymity. sitting in a bar (now long gone) upstairs, where perhaps sometimes on Friday nights his ghostly form still waited for the train until a year ago, when taken quite off guard, he was feted out onto the concourse. Despite the snow there was a good turnout for the unveiling of his statue (though head-scarfed wives had staged a boycott or else come incognito), the speech shunted aptly by each bing bong as trains departed and arrived until the Lord Mayor whipped off the cover (a little slowly, as if bronze-clad hands clutched it from inside). Larkin's waves and villages persist, though many feet of clay have been devoured by the tides since he was there, a road runs double yellow-lined now straight off the cliff into the sea. And here even the name of this hotel has worn away as though the 'station' part has had a final pint and chugged out on the night's last train to Beverley.
2010
Liz seen here being presented with her £50 winning cheque, courtesy of the Portland Hotel, alongside Hull Civic Society Chairman, John Netherwood (and a glass of dry white wine and soda!)	Last year's winner was Liz Healey with her poem about going for a night on the town called 'Girls Night Out'. Here it is: It's girl's night out Rita gave me the shout We're off on a crawl down road. It's always alright on a Saturday night With a dry white wine and soda. Trace, she feels, Doing hair on wheels Will pay for her beat-up Skoda. She'll give me a ride, Gucci bag at her side, For a dry white wine and soda. Sheree's a bit down She shops around town Since her job went bust at Croda. But she'll be alright on Saturday night With a dry white wine and soda. Now what shall I wear, Shall I redye my hair, I'll just give a ring to Rhoda. She's a bugger and a half, always game for a laugh On a dry white wine and soda. Me mam'll babysit, Well, that's if she's fit And me dad stays stone cold sober, I could always ask me nan, she'd do it for a dram Or a white wine, sod the soda. I love a girl's night I like a good fight To the bar and when that's over. I'll eat my crisps and get real pissed On me dry white wine and soda. Liz Healey To see the other winning poems in the competition, click here.
How to Enter The competition is free to enter and open to anyone. Don’t send your answers in, instead bring them to Trinity Square on Saturday 10th September between 11am and 3pm where there will be a panel of friendly enthusiastic poets who will be judging your poem. You can either read your poem aloud to the judges or give it to them to read. The panel will comment on your poem but not make any final decision. Leave your name and address (see registration form) and you will be contacted if your poem wins. The winner will receive a £50 prize, with the runners up £20 and third, fourth and fifth places of £10 each. There will also be a prize for the best Under 16 poem. We are then hoping to feature the winning poems in the local media over the following week.

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 2011 - POETRY COMPETITION

Does Hull inspire you to write poetry like Larkin and Marvell? If so, we want to hear from you. Following on from the success of our competition last year, we are again holding a competition to find a poem which has been inspired by the city. Negative or positive, personal or general, silly or serious, amateur or professional, we’d like to hear your efforts, as long as there is a link to the city.

2011

Civic Society's Colin McNicol presenting the £50 cheque to June Wentland in front of the Royal Station Hotel.

This year's winner was June Wentland for her updating of Larkin's poem about the Royal Station Hotel.
To hear June reading her poem, click here.
To hear June reading Larkin's original, click here.
To see this year's winning entries, click here.

Friday Night in the Royal (Station) Hotel 2011

The silence of Larkin's Friday night has disappeared;
it seems his Whitsun weddings have stepped off the train.
They throng in here for their reception, pushing
loneliness out to the edges of the foyer.
Yet after the photographs, the wine, the speeches,
a touch of sadness still pervades under the silent hum of Wi-Fi.
It's the not-so-young that catch the eye,
dressed up to the nines,
somehow outshone by the dazzle of their own clothes,
upstaged by their own best shoes.

Larkin knew about mortality, learned the advantages of quiet attire, of anonymity. sitting in a bar (now long gone) upstairs,
where perhaps sometimes on Friday nights his ghostly form still waited for the train until a year ago, when taken quite off guard, he was feted out onto the concourse. Despite the snow there was a good turnout for the unveiling of his statue
(though head-scarfed wives had staged a boycott or else come incognito),
the speech shunted aptly by each bing bong as trains departed and arrived
until the Lord Mayor whipped off the cover (a little slowly,
as if bronze-clad hands clutched it from inside).
Larkin's waves and villages persist, though many feet of clay have been devoured by the tides since he was there,
a road runs double yellow-lined now straight off the cliff into the sea.
And here even the name of this hotel has worn away as though the 'station' part has had a final pint
and chugged out on the night's last train to Beverley.

2010

Liz seen here being presented with her £50 winning cheque, courtesy of the Portland Hotel, alongside Hull Civic Society Chairman, John Netherwood (and a glass of dry white wine and soda!)

Last year's winner was Liz Healey with her poem about going for a night on the town called 'Girls Night Out'. Here it is:

It's girl's night out
Rita gave me the shout
We're off on a crawl down road.
It's always alright on a Saturday night
With a dry white wine and soda.

Trace, she feels,
Doing hair on wheels
Will pay for her beat-up Skoda.
She'll give me a ride, Gucci bag at her side,
For a dry white wine and soda.

Sheree's a bit down
She shops around town
Since her job went bust at Croda.
But she'll be alright on Saturday night
With a dry white wine and soda.

Now what shall I wear,
Shall I redye my hair,
I'll just give a ring to Rhoda.
She's a bugger and a half, always game for a laugh
On a dry white wine and soda.

Me mam'll babysit,
Well, that's if she's fit
And me dad stays stone cold sober,
I could always ask me nan, she'd do it for a dram
Or a white wine, sod the soda.

I love a girl's night
I like a good fight
To the bar and when that's over.
I'll eat my crisps and get real pissed
On me dry white wine and soda.

Liz Healey

To see the other winning poems in the competition, click here.

How to Enter

The competition is free to enter and open to anyone. Don’t send your answers in, instead bring them to Trinity Square on Saturday 10th September between 11am and 3pm where there will be a panel of friendly enthusiastic poets who will be judging your poem. You can either read your poem aloud to the judges or give it to them to read. The panel will comment on your poem but not make any final decision. Leave your name and address (see registration form) and you will be contacted if your poem wins. The winner will receive a £50 prize, with the runners up £20 and third, fourth and fifth places of £10 each. There will also be a prize for the best Under 16 poem. We are then hoping to feature the winning poems in the local media over the following week.