Home Artistic Angles Poetry Competition Winner | Evie Wright

Poetry Competition Winner | Evie Wright

'Cutting Takes' hosted a poetry competition. Here is our winner.

Evie WrightAugust 6, 20263 Mins read122 Views

Copy of Copy of Copy of Untitled Design 1 Poetry Competition Winner | Evie Wright

Poetry Prompt: Community.

After Mariéad Byrne,

after dividing the labour.

by Evie Wright

When a person is losing their mind, you cannot find it. You cannot hold it, keep it steady, you cannot catch it in a bowl and scoop it back to where it was meant to be. Bowl becomes colander becomes spilling goopy rain sounds becomes grey mess of matter on the floor. When a person is losing their mind you can be still. You can sit. You can hold your own when they spit tongues, when they are not themselves,

not anyonewhen they are only fear.

You can disagree. You are allowed to disagree when someone speaks of attempted killings, thieves in the night hopping fences your head can shake and you can smile. You cannot undo what has been done. Cannot smooth out the knots inhabiting a skull. You can breathe alongside

a body that breathes.You can share the air together.

On mobile, turn phone sideways

The poet

Evie Wright is a poet, performer, writer and filmmaker from Bath. She is a 2025 graduate of the University of Birmingham, and a 2025-2026 Emerge Studios artist in residence. When she is not ‘Deli Girl’, she is busy running her mouth, going to gigs and catching trains. She has headlined, supported and featured in poetry nights across Bath and Bristol, is a Milk Poetry Slam winner, and was a competitor in the 2026 Roundhouse Poetry Slam heats. She writes and performs because she has to. Because of the lump in her throat that always. wants. out.

Evie Wright, winner of poetry competition

Words from the poet

Community is malleable, seemingly meaning something new in every context. It is a funny thing to write about. Words string and bind us together, as strangers become friends across an evening discussing books. Sometimes, words and meaning become jumbled. Stories transform, from a freedom to a danger, they can grow more real than they ought to be. Family can become strangers, as the mind weakens and dips away from itself.

Community, like everything else, is a muscle to strengthen. Sometimes, we have to use our words with precision, and resilience, and not allow ourselves to fall silent against fear. Often, the smallest acts take the most courage, patience or pain. Sometimes these things mean the most. And, when words do fail us, we have a certain power in our hands, in our breath, in the hum of a shared world.

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Thank you for reading and supporting the Cutting Takes Poetry Competition. We hope Evie Wright’s winning poem has encouraged you to think differently about what community means and the many ways it shapes our lives. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Evie, whose moving interpretation of this year’s theme demonstrates the power of literature to foster connection, spark conversation, and bring people together. It has been a privilege to celebrate her work.

If you’d like to hear about future poetry competitions, creative projects, events, and opportunities to get involved, be sure to follow Cutting Takes on Instagram and stay connected with everything we have planned. Whether you’re an experienced writer or just beginning your creative journey, we’d love to welcome you into our growing creative community.

Looking for even more literary opportunities? Join us at Paperback Pints, our relaxed book club held in a local pub, where readers gather to discuss great books, share ideas, and meet fellow literature lovers in a welcoming, informal setting. We can’t wait to see what you’ll write, read, and create with us next.