Spotlight on Poet, Deborah Finding
Our March 2023 Zoom Room to Write Poet talks about Winning the 2022 Write By The Sea Poetry Competition.
On Saturday the 18th of March, Poet Deborah Finding will lead our first Zoom Room to Write session of 2023 with a workshop entitled Modern Love Poems. It’s a theme close to her heart as Deborah won first place in the poetry category of our 2022 Writing Competitions with her stunning love poem ‘keys to the city’. In this article Deborah reflects on her win and the impact that it has had on her writing.
“I heard about the Write By The Sea competition the way I hear about most poetry opportunities – on Twitter. There are a couple of websites that collate upcoming submission deadlines and competitions, and WBTS was included on one of those. I submitted three poems, and was delighted when I found out that one of them, ‘keys to the city’ had been shortlisted. When the results were announced and I found out that my poem had won, I was thrilled – not least because it meant I got to attend the festival in beautiful Kilmore Quay.
The festival itself was wonderful – gorgeous surroundings, amazing food and, of course, an inspiring schedule of events. All three winners in the writing categories were invited to read their winning entries on the opening night of the festival, and although I felt nervous at first, we were treated to the warmest reception, which continued all weekend. The festival is incredibly well-organised, welcoming and friendly, and I couldn’t recommend it more highly. I met people in Kilmore Quay that I’ve remained in touch with, and I’m also running the first Zoom Room to Write, 2023 poetry workshop for Write By The Sea on the 18th of March this year, so our relationship continues as well!
I’m so grateful to the organisers, the judges, the prize sponsor (Rosslare Municipal District), the volunteers, the writers and the attendees, who all made this a truly special weekend. I would recommend the festival to anyone interested in writing, whether entering the competition or not, but attending as a competition winner made it really unforgettable for me. Winning the poetry competition was a huge confidence boost to me as a writer, and definitely encouraged me to submit my work more widely, which led to more successes, including having my first poetry pamphlet accepted for publication in June 2023 (with Nine Pens).”
We are now accepting entries to our 2023 writing competitions at: http://localhost:82/wbts2/writing-competitions/
Book your place on Deborah’s workshop on Saturday 18th March https://ti.to/wbts/modernlove where you will be inspired to write your own love poem and who knows how life will unfold… maybe you will be our 2023 Poetry Category winner.
