On Behalf of the Judges

We have reached the final part of Beyond Borders’ writing competitions and I am delighted to announce the shortlist and winner. The topics were as wide ranging as previous competitions and all the entries were both thoughtful and thought provoking.

Judging a literary competition is usually seen as an intellectual exercise but in this case the winners’ work provoked strong emotional responses.

On the shortlist, Lesley Traynor’s short story, Warrior, was a subtle and complex exploration of a love story across the ethnic divide. With a poet’s sensibility, Traynor defined the character of her protagonist through language, individual words leading to a deeper understanding of the character and the situation. A moving and imaginative piece.

The two others shortlisted were both non-fiction pieces:

Linda Lewin’s Angels With Broken Wings used an article about an art exhibition not just to tell the reader about the exhibits but to talk about the political and cultural situation in Myanmar. The premise of the piece, that art crosses borders, was demonstrated by the writer’s going beyond the narrow form of cultural review to discuss a wider truth.

Indian Borders: A Beautiful Fallacy, Nimisha Menon’s article on the partition of India, was colourful and emotional, moving from the romance of the spice route and the way it drew people from different countries to India through to the straight line drawn across the sub-continent in 1947 by the British. Her heartfelt description of the emotional fallout from that dividing line made for a resonant and moving piece.

The winning poem tugged at the heartstrings in a less specific way. Caroline Johnstone’s poem, My Tongue Remembers, was only one of a small collection of poems by her on the experience of being exiled. The poem’s narrator is not from a particular country but the feelings described, the way their own language is embedded in the body and the sense memory, surely speak equally of the experience of refugees from Syria and the Yemen and Sudan.

This was a profound and universal poem, as were the others in Johnstone’s collection, any one of which could have been shortlisted. They were all delicately drawn but deeply powerful in their emotional impact. Beautiful and sensitive writing.

WINNER

Caroline Johnstone – My Tongue Remembers 

SHORTLIST

Nimisha Menon – Indian Borders: A Beautiful Fallacy

Linda Lewin – Angels With Broken Wings

Lesley Traynor – Warrior

On behalf of Beyond Borders Scotland, we’d like to thank you all sincerely for taking the time to tell your story, and your energy in creating such truly inspiring writing!

Please also use the link here to subscribe to our Beyond Writing mailing list and receive special offers, opportunities and news on the Beyond Borders International Festival, we hope to see you there!