After having PC meltdown last week, I’m now getting used to my new machine and trying to catch up on all the things that didn’t get done while I was off line. Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of reading at the Red Shed prize giving. The Red Shed readings and the associated events at Mocca Moocha are becoming pretty high profile these days, so it was no surprise that the competition attracted almost 250 entries; the fact that so many people care enough about their work to send it out is extremely heartening. Of course, the nature of poetry competitions means there will be an awful lot of poems that ultimately don’t get any recognition. However, it was a real pleasure to read the work and hopefully my comments below reflect how much I  enjoyed the judging process.

1^st

‘Emptied’ by Charlotte Ansell. This is a poem about loss…