Judges
We are absolutely delighted to be able to say that famous Welsh writer John Evans has agreed to judge this years' competition!
John Evans is one of Wales' most uncompromising and original contemporary artists and writers. He started his career as a singer/songwriter signed to the Situation 2 arm of Beggars Banquet Records and sang lead vocals for The Tax Exiles. For more than ten years he has worked as a full-time writer and filmmaker and has become the leading figure in the New Wave of Welsh writing. His work has been described variously as post-punk, post-modern and even 'impossible to categorise'. Throughout - from his underground films, or his most recent books Industria and G.B.H. - he breaks the boundaries and conventions of traditional forms to combine words and images in an innovative style which is both fascinating and repellent.
The interest and acclaim for Evans' work has spread throughout
the U.K. and beyond. Best-selling author Iain Sinclair describes
him as 'a hot and necessary item in an evidently grim
landscape', while others see him as 'the authentic voice of the
street - the death rattle of post-industrial Britain'. His work
has also been compared to writers like Kathy Acker, William
Burroughs, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Henry Rollins, Irvine Welsh,
and bands like Pere Ubu, Joy Division and the Manic Street
Preachers.
John has published a number of books - Giants, G.B.H., Industria,
How Real Is My Valley?, The Red Kite in Wales, two collections
of poetry - Out and Less and has also been editor of a number of books
including: Black Harvest - Contemporary poetry from the South
Wales Valleys, Out of the Coalhouse - New Writing from the South
Wales Valleys, and Mogg Williams - Selected Works.
During 2004, in a public poll to find the "greatest Welsh men and women of all time", John Evans was voted at number 27 out of a list of 100 names also nominated by the public.
To visit John's website click here.
The poems will be judged anonymously to ensure a fair competition and unbiased result and winners will be announced on our website here as well as in the local and national press.
