Jumping out of a fridge was cold comfort for a rising poet

The Forward Arts Foundation held its first event last night at the Bush Theatre, Shepherd’s Bush, featuring readings from two shortlisted poets for this year’s Prize, presided over by Forward chairman William Sieghart.

Rhian Edwards, one of the shortlisted contenders, remembered a most surreal experience. “I was poet-in-residence for John Lewis,” she told me, “and they insisted that I jump out of a fridge as a publicity stunt. I remember thinking, I’ve sold out this time. My face said it all.”