Wallingford poet Vanessa Lampert wins Winchester Poetry Prize

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 18 Oct, 06:07 · Archive

Vanessa Lampert from Wallingford won first prize in the Winchester Poetry Prize competition for her poem The Rub.

Vanessa Lampert, a Wallingford acupuncturist, has won first prize in the Winchester Poetry Prize for her poem The Rub. The competition received more than 2,500 entries from around the world. It is Mrs Lampert's ninth first-place accolade in her seven years of writing poetry.

Now 63, Mrs Lampert took up poetry later in life and completed an MA in writing poetry at age 56 through Poetry School London, affiliated with the University of Newcastle, which she finished in 2019. She said the achievement was motivated by a family loss that gave her 'a sense of urgency about being alive and not putting off things you told yourself you'd do one day'. She hopes her success will demonstrate to women who 'might think they're over the hill' that there is still time to pursue deferred goals.

Mrs Lampert said that undertaking an expensive academic course 'demands a certain amount of work' because 'you have to keep on producing poems and actually hand stuff in and have it judged'. This discipline, she explained, helped her move forward with her writing. Her studies led her to connect with the Oxford Poetry Library, where she began volunteering, describing it as 'a wonderful vibrant centre for poetry'.

How it is being reported

• Oxfordshire woman wins prestigious Winchester Poetry PrizeA Wallingford poet said the recognition was 'great' on winning the first prize in the Winchester Poetry Prize competition 2026.Oxford Mail · 17 Oct, 05:00
• Oxfordshire woman wins prestigious Winchester Poetry PrizeA Wallingford poet said the recognition was 'great' on winning the first prize in the Winchester Poetry Prize competition 2026.Oxfordshire Guardian · 17 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Vanessa Lampert · Wallingford · Winchester Poetry Prize · Poetry School London · University of Newcastle · Oxford Poetry Library

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