The 2026 Jon Stallworthy Poetry Prize, worth £1000, has been awarded to Howard Anglin (Linacre) for his poem 'Kühe-Reyen'.
One of the judges, Professor of Poetry A.E. Stallings, commented that Howard's unhurried evocation of the nostalgic impact of cow bells winding down the mountains "wears its learning lightly".
Melina McClure (Merton) was selected the runner-up for their poem 'Corrales, NM, the last weekend of September'.
Giovanna Truong (Wadham), Jordan Maly-Preuss (Merton), Angus Barrett (Magdalen), Rosalind Moran (St Anne’s), and Bilal Moin (Reuben) were all highly commended.
This year's theme of 'Music' attracted an increased number of entries, with seven poets shortlisted for the award event at Wolfson.
A YouTube video of the award event is available on the Wolfson's YouTube channel. Later in the year, the shortlisted poems will be published in the annual Jon Stallworthy Poetry Prize booklet, available to read in Oxford libraries.
The judges, the English Faculty and Wolfson College would all like to extend their congratulations to the winner and those shortlisted and thank all the entrants for their submissions.
