Promising poets impress Lord Provost and Poet Laureate

Published: 27 April 2016

Odaline Dhir has been crowned winner of the Lord Provost's poetry prize for her work 'Take a tour around Glasgow'

The 12 year old Notre Dame Primary pupil celebrated a double first becoming the first winner of the Lord Provost's first poetry competition at a ceremony held at the City Chambers.

 The Lord Provost said: "The competition caught the imagination of this city's children and proves that poetry remains a popular form of expression.

"We've been overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of entries and my congratulations go to Odaline and all the runners up for their marvellous entries.

"I'm sure, like me and the judging panel, you'll be really impressed by the standard.

Jim Carruth said: "The Lord Provost and I are keen to make this an annual competition. We've been hugely encouraged by the response. I just want to congratulate everyone here today on their poetry and I'd urge them to continue their writing. We're definitely looking forward to next year's competition."

The Lord Provost teamed up with the city's Poet Laureate Jim Carruth last year to launch the competition for P7's with the theme 'Glasgow - Our City'.
The runners up are: Eve Roger, Cardonald Primary with 'Glasgow my city'; Vincent Chen, St Teresa's Primary with 'Pollok House'; Zeyna Ali, Barmulloch Primary with 'The great mosque' and Rosie Barclay of Scotstoun Primary with 'The unforgettable fire'.

The Lord Provost appointed the current Poet Laureate at a civic ceremony in 2014. He follows in the footsteps of Edwin Morgan and Liz Lochhead. 

The appointment is for a minimum of five years raising the profile of poetry across the city and leading the celebration of Glasgow as a City of Poets.

Read the winning poems Poetry Booklet 2016 (1) (Word doc, 4 MB)(opens new window).