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Campaigner wins 2002 Poetry Prize

by Amy Ford

The well known mental health activist and one of the founders of Survivors Speak Out, Peter Campbell won the 1^st prize of £100 in the "Martha Robinson" Poetry Competition 2002 for his poem "To Willie Emslie". 2^nd prize of £50 went to Philip Newhouse for "On the Side of the Lines" and 3^rd place to Sophie Goodeve (£25) for "Urbanity".

To avoid any bias, the names of all those who entered were kept from the judges, with each poem only identified by a number.

In total there were 71 poems entered from (ex) service users around the UK on different topics – but a great many were on mental health themes and in particular explored what it is like to live with a mental illness. The judging panel consisted of four volunteers from National Voices Forum and the professional poet Philip Kane.

Amy Ford, Competition Organiser