By Jacqueline Grima
Manchester Writing School MA graduate Ian Humphreys has recently been announced as the winner of the 2016 Hamish Canham Prize. Ian won with his poem ‘Zebra on East 55th and 3rd’.
The prize was established in 2004 by Sheena and Hugh Canham, named after their son Hamish, a gifted writer and psychotherapist who died in 2003. The judging panel includes staff members of The Poetry Society.
Ian, who has previously won the PENfro Poetry Competition, was delighted to hear that he was this year’s winner. He said, “Writing can be a solitary, uphill slog, so it’s lovely to get a bit of recognition now and again and to be told you’re kind of heading in the right direction.”
He added, “I’d written about a deer walking nonchalantly through Manhattan for an exercise that required us to put an animal in an unusual setting. I changed the animal to a zebra for extra contrast and to introduce an even more bizarre feel. The idea of it disappearing into a zebra crossing at the end of the poem came later and tied in well with the competition theme. When I read it now I see the zebra as a metaphor for a homeless person – someone invisible to mainstream society.”
To read Ian’s winning poem, click here.
Featured image: Henry Redcliffe Not to be outshined by the artists performing today, the rain makes its inevitable return to the skies of Yorkshire over Leeds Festival. With the downpours hardly taking a break, Saturday is the day for the indie-heads and brats, as two of the most anticipated acts of the weekend take the…
Featured image: Georgina Hurdsfield Despite the dreary weather forecast, it seems the explosive noise of the night before has blown away the expected torrential rain, as the sun fights through the clouds to shine over Leeds Festival on Friday. With the opening of the ‘other’ stages, the first double headliner, and a very special birthday,…
Featured image: Ruby Boland As the gates of Bramham Park finally opened for the 2026 edition, so too did the heavens, with heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast for the whole weekend, you’d be forgiven for thinking this year’s instalment of Leeds Festival was a write-off. Neither the punters nor the artists would let this dreary…
Featured image and gallery: Hoang Phan Notebooks were carried from one workshop to another. Writers from different generations sat around tables, sharing manuscripts and listening to each other. Outdoors, small groups strolled along Oxford Road, pausing before buildings steeped in literary history. This was the scene during the Manchester Writing School Summer Festival 2026, held…
Leave a reply