A poem inspired by the author’s own experiences with a robbery has won first prize of £5,000 in a national poetry competition.
When I Was Robbed in New York City by Imogen Wade is about a man locked in a van at JFK airport by a man dressed in black, driven to Grand Central Station, and forced to give him money. This is the story.
“Writing this poem allowed me to go into my own memory and unpack events that I had never processed before,” said Wade, who lives in Surrey. “As I walked from the airport to the train station, I remembered myself as a 19-year-old exchange student in the hazy streets of New York.”
The judges said the poem’s “paradoxical lyricism about abduction demands repeated reading.” The poem begins with the speaker’s recollection of “finding herself” in her kidnapper’s van, and how she travels around the city with him as a prisoner, where he eventually takes all of her away. He tells in strangely beautiful detail how he robs her of her property and rescues her from the van. She carried her bag “like a princess” and kissed her on the cheek “like a vassal.” ”
Wade added that the van’s interior “appears as a symbolic space when the narrator encounters the van again in his interactions and dreams.” I learned that the past doesn’t always stay in the past and that sometimes you have to revisit it to process trauma. Even if it means getting into the same van you’re trying to escape from. The process is progress, and poetry has great psychotherapeutic power. ”
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Wade’s poem was selected from a pool of 19,000 poems submitted by 8,841 poets from 110 countries, anonymously judged by poets Jane Draycott, Will Harris and Claire Pollard. Winning the contest “feels like a dream come true,” Wade added. “I am very passionate about my writing and to be recognized at this level by the judges is incredible. This marks an important turning point in my career as a poet.”
The poem “Eric” by Fauzia Muradari Kane was chosen as the second prize winner, and the third prize winner was “Like Her” by Rensi Jumaoas Rakid. The top three poems will be published in the spring issue of the Poetry Society’s magazine, The Poetry Review. The seven poets honored are AV Bridgewood, George Grace, Harriet Jay, Katie O’Prey, Jack Nichols, Anna Selby and Madeline Wurzberger.
Previous winners of this competition include Carol Ann Duffy, Ruth Padel and James Berry. In 2022, Eric Yip was named the youngest recipient ever.
When I was robbed in New York City
I told people there was a medicine for travel sickness.
You made a fool of me.I entered JFK in red
I have a suitcase, but there is no one to greet me.Man
He came to me wearing black clothes.I found
I’m in the parking lot with my expensive van
And he had my luggage.Come in, he
Said.There was no thought in me
Head. Before I knew it, I was in his van.he
The door was locked immediately after that.Had made
We turned off our phones when we went down
bridge. We talked about Niagara Falls.
He chose the narrowest street in the city.
Needle teasing Manhattan.
when he parked his car outside Grand Central
Station, he said – don’t leave, it’s there.
Bad people around me.he made me unzip
Suitcases, books, and bras spill out.
I sit down and give him all my money.after that
He helped me out of the van just like I was.
Princess; he carried my bag like a vassal;
kissed me on the cheek.Please come in, I can always hear you.
A man pushes me too hard.Get in to my big
black carSometimes in my dreams I
I was sitting on the leather next to him.i don’t
I need to order so I’ll drive with you
Cross the East River at melodious speed.
