The PAVE Woorilla Poetry Prize awards ceremony took place in Emerald on Sunday 29 July and, according to organiser Maria Millers, the event reflected its national status.
The poetry event attracted more than 300 entries from all over the country, though it was a hills local who took out the open section.
Belgrave poet Catherine Bateson won with her poem Green Light.
It’s a reflection by one woman on another – her mother.
“It was really a teenage memory pitting my own memory of my life against what was going on in my mother’s life at the same time,” Ms Bateson said.
“We used to live in the country and it was about a decision I made not to elope with a boy, but it also is a poem about my mother.
“The event was fantastic; it was just a great and warm event.”
The runner-up for the open section was Brisbane-based writer and poet Mocco Wollert, for Possum Watch.
Ms Millers noted that it was “particularly pleasing to see an increase in the number of junior entries”.
She said that judging by the surnames, many may not have learnt English as a first language.
Wade O’Brien from Muirhead, NorthernTerritory, took out the youth award for his poem MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), a poem that embraces digital gaming culture.
On the night of the awards ceremony, eminent poet and judge Judith Rodriguez commented on having to make a difficult decision because of the number of fine poems.
