IN 1977, Jeff Nuttall wrote: “The aristocracy is always dying. The top of the social tree is always falling away in twigs and powders and leaf-skein.                                 

“It is dying because, having realised ultimate ambition, it has reached ultimate disillusion. The tree grows no further. The upper class has lost its motivation. It has no need to strive. It ceases to strive. It dies perpetually.”

As with every year, poets are already looking to the award and honours that will blossom. I agree the upper classes don’t strive, but they excel at excluding. Earlier this month, poet Niall O’Sullivan noted: “You may think wrestling’s not worth your respect because it’s all fixed but I’ve felt the same about most literary prizes.”
Awards that I do think carry something beyond marketing value are those celebrating potential.