A Wiltshire prodigy poet has beaten thousands across the globe to be awarded a prestigious poetry prize.

13-year-old Eva Woolven, who is home-schooled in Marlborough, had never published poetry before, but now her work has been recognised by award-winning poets on an international stage.

The Foyle Young Poets Prize is awarded to only 15 prodigy poets across the globe each year.

This year, judges chose from 15,800 poems submitted by over 6,000 young people from 119 countries, including Romania, Trinidad and Tobago, Vietnam and New Zealand.

Eva’s winning poem, which shows a youthful flair paired with wisdom beyond her years, explores the ideas of loneliness and connection which extend beyond borders and languages.

Speaking about her poem, titled ‘pink Floyd (portraits of the moon)’, Eva said:

“My poem is written about two people isolated in the world with only each other to relate to - the comforting feeling of being alone with someone else there with you.

“It’s about how much you can say to someone without speaking. It is also about idolising someone you don't know as well as you maybe think you do.

“The boy being described doesn't necessarily exist, at least not in the way he is presented, but I don't think that matters because he is real to the narrator.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Eva Woolven reading her poem to a captivated audience.Eva Woolven reading her poem to a captivated audience. (Image: Foyle Young Poets Society)

For Eva, this win is about more than a prize, as she has also found a community through the Foyle Young Poets Society.

“The experience of being one of the top 15 was wonderful - I have been writing for a while without knowing anybody else who wrote poetry and it was so lovely to find a community of people who also enjoyed the same things as me,” she said.

This year's competition was judged by award-winning poets Jonathan Edwards and Jane Yeh.

Speaking about the high standards in this year's competition, Jane Yeh said:

“In judging this award, I was astonished – and humbled – to read so many poems brimming over with inventiveness, ambition, and sheer quality.

"The standard of numerous entrants’ work was equal to, or indeed higher than, that of the adult writers in other competitions I’ve judged over the years, displaying remarkable maturity and talent."

Jonathan Edwards added: "The achievement of the poems is enough to drive faith not just in the future but in the present of the art."

As an international prize winner, Eva will now be offered further mentoring opportunities, including a residential writing course at the Arvon Centre in Shropshire next year.

There she will spend a week with this year's judges, focusing on improving her poetry within a community of writers.

The 13-year-old says she is currently working on her first collection, which she hopes to find a publisher for.