23 October 2019
American author Paula Bohince wins the UC Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize with her poem Insomniac at the Ice Shack.
Now in its fifth year, UC’s Poetry on the Move Festival has gained international recognition, a status reflected in the standard of entries received for the Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize.
The award, which carries a $15,000 first prize, is judged by a panel of eminent poets. This year’s prize was won by Pennsylvania-based author Paula Bohince, with her poem entitled Insomniac at the Ice Shack.
Paula Bohince has found popularity around the world, with three poetry collections, most recently Swallows and Waves. Her poems have appeared in Australian Book Review, The New Yorker, and Best American Poetry and the list goes on.
In her video acceptance speech, Paula praised UC Vice-Chancellor Professor Deep Saini, for being a wonderful advocate for poets while thanking Festival Director Shane Strange for guiding her through the process.
“I wrote Insomniac at the Ice Shack, to explore love and shame and the ways they can bring people together; the ways in which they can be isolating, the ways that people deal with pain. Sometimes that is through art-making and poetry-making, which was the case for me with this poem.”
The opening lines of the poem reflect this mood:
I left my little room, its lantern and stove, magazines and radio.
And stepped out dressed in drownable layers of wool and rubber, cotton underclothes like a newborn’s home going swaddle.
Australian author Ivy Ireland was named as the runner up with her poem The Owl Inside.
Ivy’s most recent poetry collection is Porch Light. She has previously been awarded the Australian Young Poet Fellowship, the Harri Jones Memorial Prize and the Thunderbolt Prize. Ivy has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Newcastle, and her poems, essays and reviews are widely published.
The shortlist for Vice-Chancellors Prize included Sue Wootton from New Zealand, Madeleine Dale from Queensland, and Mark Svenold and Kimberly Williams from the US.
Kimberly has just begun her doctoral studies at the University of Canberra, moving from Arizona for the poetry program run by the International Poetry Studies Institute (IPSI), which is part of UC’s Centre for Creative and Cultural Research in the Faculty of Arts and Design.
The Poetry on the Move Festival is run by IPSI and continues to grow, as evidenced by this year’s event, featuring sell-out performances and ground-breaking workshops involving leading poets.
