（獨媒報導） 正就讀劍橋大學經濟系的19歲香港學生 Eric Yip 憑藉詩歌《Fricatives》，獲得2021年 National Poetry Competition（英國詩歌協會全國詩歌大賽）冠軍，成為該獎項最年輕得主。Eric Yip 指，他希望探索香港的轉變，以及其伴隨的憤怒、沮喪、散居港人的內疚情感。
他又指，自己的作品含有倖存者的罪疚心態，尤其是當香港正經歷史上最大一波移民潮，但並非每個人都有方法搬到他國定居。
評委指作品「充滿力量卻又脆弱」
評委之一的英國詩人 Fiona Benson 形容，《Fricatives》是一首極其雄心勃勃、非常優美的詩歌，將讀者置於一個第二語言是英文的學生的位置。她認為，「這是一個關於在不安中被同化、關於政府監視的，充滿力量卻又脆弱的故事」；又讚賞詩歌將「正確的發音、良好的外國教育、驕傲的父母」與「底層政治犯、危機與殘酷」相比較，使詩充滿張力。
Eric Yip：用英文書寫家鄉，會感到有點內疚
Eric Yip 對於贏得比賽感到驚訝。他自謙年僅19歲，未來還有很多詩要看、要寫；並視獎項為一個起點，未來將繼續寫作和進步。他接受《Write Out Loud》訪問時，又指自己對於不斷擴大的香港詩歌群體能作出微小貢獻，深感榮幸。
在訪問中，Eric Yip 也透露他寫作的掙扎——來自香港，懂廣東話和普通話，卻用英文寫詩。他說：「幾乎會感到有點內疚，因為當你用英文寫作時，當你寫下關於香港，關於你的家鄉和自己的文化時，你是在積極進行翻譯工作。」
Eric Yip 將獲得5,000英鎊（約合5.14萬港幣）的冠軍獎金。連同其他9位獲獎者，他的作品已於英國詩歌協會網站上發表。
自1978年起至今，英國詩歌協會全國詩歌大賽已舉行44年。今年共有1萬6千多份詩歌投稿，來自100個國家；評審閱讀作品時不會見到詩人的名字。
《Fricatives》全文：
To speak English properly, Mrs Lee said, you must learn
the difference between three and free. Three men
escaped from Alcatraz in a rubber raft and drowned
on their way to Angel Island. Hear the difference? Try
this: you fought your way into existence. Better. Look
at this picture. Fresh yellow grains beaten
till their seeds spill. That's threshing. That's
submission. You must learn to submit
before you can learn. You must be given
a voice before you can speak. Nobody wants to listen
to a spectacled boy with a Hong Kong accent.
You will have to leave this city, these dark furrows
stuffed full with ancestral bones. Know
that death is thorough. You will speak of bruised bodies
skinnier than yours, force the pen past batons
and blood, call it fresh material for writing. Now
they're paying attention. You're lucky enough
to care about how the tongue moves, the seven types
of fricatives, the articulatory function of teeth
sans survival. You will receive a good education
abroad and make your parents proud. You will take
a stranger's cock in your mouth in the piss-slick stall
of that dingy Cantonese restaurant you love and taste
where you came from, what you were made of all along.
Put some work into it, he growls. C'mon, give me
some bite. Your mother visits one October, tells you
how everyone speaks differently here, more proper.
You smile, nod, bring her to your favourite restaurant,
order dim sum in English. They're releasing
the students arrested five years ago. Just a tad more
soy sauce please, thank you. The television replays
yesterday on repeat. The teapots are refilled. You spoon
served rice into your mouth, this perfect rice.
Steamed, perfect, white.