A TEENAGE poet has won a prize in an international competition about the human body.

Kitty Joyce, 19, from Oxford, took second place after nearly 400 poets entered the contest.

Entries were received from 23 countries, including China, Kazakhstan and Nigeria.

The competition invited writers, poets and scientists aged 25 and under to come up with poems using language from new research into the human body as inspiration.

See also: Michael Sheen bursary for Welsh students at Oxford

Judges said of the Oxford poet’s work: “There is a strong rhythm and a captivating tone here – the language is confident and uses creative imagery to focus on tiny moments.”

In total, six poets were recognised by the Young Poets Network competition.

Winners will receive one to one mentoring and advice from an established poet.

They will also receive an exclusive Young Poets Network notebook, poetry books, posters, and up to £50 in book tokens.

The challenge was inspired by the Human Cell Atlas research initiative, an international project which is creating a map of all the cell types in the human body.

The winner was Anna Bailey, a 19-year-old from North Yorkshire.