A Swindon school pupil who has beaten over 6,000 poets worldwide to become 'Young Poet of the Year' has revealed the inspiration behind her winning poem.

12-year-old Evie Lockwood attends Lydiard Park Academy in Swindon and has been selected as a top 15 poet in the Foyle Young Poet Awards, after over 17,000 poems were submitted globally.

The competition is aimed at poets aged 11 to 17 and this year Evie is the youngest winner to be selected.

But despite her young age, the Swindon poet has a maturity and wisdom well beyond her years.

Her poem discusses the murder of Brandon Teena, an American transgender man who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska in 1993.

His murder led to increased lobbying for hate crime laws in the United States.

12-year-old Evie from Swindon is this year's youngest winner12-year-old Evie from Swindon is this year's youngest winner (Image: Hayley Madden)

Discussing the inspiration behind her poem 'Brandon', Evie said: "The idea began with an exercise, the specifics of which I can’t quite remember, but I know I wrote – The streets were midnight and the day was dead / Tell me your honour, how could he have known?

"This made me think of Brandon’s tragic murder in 1993, and what came after. But what about what came before?

"This narrative inspired me to write Brandon, and the theoretical place he was in.

"I also misheard one of my friends, during the workshop, and thought she said 'American silence' which made me think of guns and violence, as the majority of the US' history is anything but peaceful.

"I imagined every detail, from the beat of music in the air, to my favourite line – Vermilion folds of his old jacket – where I describe his clothes.

"Generally what I saw was a Marty McFly-type 80s and 90s Americana, the teen image of the future, in juxtaposition to the imminent feeling Brandon is about to have his stolen."

Accepting her new title as 'Young Poet of the Year', the Swindon pupil added: “It means the world to me to win the Foyle Award.

"I have been writing privately for a very long time, always hunched over the family computer, letting my ideas meander onto the document.

"But now I have the courage to show everyone my voice, to demonstrate that I am worthy of being listened to and that there are many in the world willing to listen. “

You can read Evie's winning poem on The Poetry Society website and in the printed winners’ anthology being published in March 2025.

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