We are pleased to announce the results of the Swale Life Poetry Competition (July 2011) judged by Mandy Pannett.
The two Highly Commended Poems are:
"Laments" by Ian Barker (Corwen, Wales)
"Reading Rimbaud at Tunstall: A Sestina" by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé (Singapore)
Winners:
Third Prize - "Her Room" by Miles Cain (York, UK)
Second Prize - "May it Disturb Me" by Valerie Bridge (Dorset, UK)
First Prize - "Eulogy at Kingsferry Bridge" by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé (Singapore)
Congratulations to the winners and commended authors. These poems will be published alongside the Judge's Report in Issue #7 of Swale Life Magazine on the 30th of August at www.swalelife.com
This competition raised £66.24 for Diversity House, publishers of Swale Life magazine and brings the total sum Excel for Charity has raised for this charity to £328.02
Thursday 25 August 2011
Monday 15 August 2011
Lupus UK Poetry Competition 2011 Results
We are pleased to announce the results of the Lupus UK International Poetry Competition judged by Jim Bennett. A successful competition that raised £180.65 for the charity. What is more, judge, Jim Bennett found many of the entries to be of very high standard, but at the end it came down to five poets.
The 2 Highly Commended poets in no particular order are CLARE FOGES for Afternoon, and TERRY JONES for Werner Herzog's documentary about the Chauvet cave paintings discovered in 1993.
The Third Prize was won by LESLEY BURT for Rhythm, Second Prize went to GILL McEVOY for The Bardsey Apple, eifel ynys enlli, and the First Prize has been won by ANNA MERYT for the poem Bulawayo.
Congratulations to all the winners. You can now read the Judge's Report here.
Excel for Charity.
The 2 Highly Commended poets in no particular order are CLARE FOGES for Afternoon, and TERRY JONES for Werner Herzog's documentary about the Chauvet cave paintings discovered in 1993.
The Third Prize was won by LESLEY BURT for Rhythm, Second Prize went to GILL McEVOY for The Bardsey Apple, eifel ynys enlli, and the First Prize has been won by ANNA MERYT for the poem Bulawayo.
Congratulations to all the winners. You can now read the Judge's Report here.
Excel for Charity.
Werner Herzog’s documentary about the Chauvet cave paintings discovered in 1993.
It is the cave itself
has curated these pictures,
head by equine head
horn by locked horn,
an animal colouring book
for pre-school children.
These are the animation keys
put aside for the trace and paint
of history – cached images
some thirty thousand years in loading up:
a delay long enough to see off
the Neanderthals while
Homo sapiens hung on, hung on.
The floor has been overlaid
with metal tracking
to conserve the litter
of scattered ursine vertebrae
bloated now like bulky parcels.
Smears of carbon chips
from fires that were surely
lit to show this work
at private views tread out
in this carved gorge of the Ardeche.
And currently the breached interior
presents the steel door of a strong room
which we side step through our own
permissive passageway- our weekend haunt,
East Finchley High Road where the Phoenix is.
- Terry Jones
Highly Commended in the Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
has curated these pictures,
head by equine head
horn by locked horn,
an animal colouring book
for pre-school children.
These are the animation keys
put aside for the trace and paint
of history – cached images
some thirty thousand years in loading up:
a delay long enough to see off
the Neanderthals while
Homo sapiens hung on, hung on.
The floor has been overlaid
with metal tracking
to conserve the litter
of scattered ursine vertebrae
bloated now like bulky parcels.
Smears of carbon chips
from fires that were surely
lit to show this work
at private views tread out
in this carved gorge of the Ardeche.
And currently the breached interior
presents the steel door of a strong room
which we side step through our own
permissive passageway- our weekend haunt,
East Finchley High Road where the Phoenix is.
- Terry Jones
Highly Commended in the Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
Afternoon
That afternoon, after you’d brought me eggs
yellow as a symbol, sun spooned on the side
of the plate, we played at words, our own
collective nouns. A shame of dirty plates.
A joy of uncorked bottles. A dusk of shades.
An urge of strokes. A heat of sheets.
An excuse of looks. A quartet of foots.
A yolk of embraces. A smudge of kisses.
Days like those – we call them a bliss.
- Clare Foges
Highly Commended in the Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
yellow as a symbol, sun spooned on the side
of the plate, we played at words, our own
collective nouns. A shame of dirty plates.
A joy of uncorked bottles. A dusk of shades.
An urge of strokes. A heat of sheets.
An excuse of looks. A quartet of foots.
A yolk of embraces. A smudge of kisses.
Days like those – we call them a bliss.
- Clare Foges
Highly Commended in the Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
Rhythm
Every Sunday the key resists
just a little: reminds me
to take care, not over-wind;
on each hour, the chime spring
rustles, limbering up
before hammer hits gong;
I regulate the mainspring
when it tightens in winter nights
and expands during summer days;
the gentle pendulum rocks;
another heartbeat
in the house.
Like my grandfather,
my father, my mother,
I will not know which chime
is the last I hear.
- Lesley Burt
Third Prize Winner, Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
just a little: reminds me
to take care, not over-wind;
on each hour, the chime spring
rustles, limbering up
before hammer hits gong;
I regulate the mainspring
when it tightens in winter nights
and expands during summer days;
the gentle pendulum rocks;
another heartbeat
in the house.
Like my grandfather,
my father, my mother,
I will not know which chime
is the last I hear.
- Lesley Burt
Third Prize Winner, Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
The Bardsey Apple, eifel ynys enlli
An orchard of one,
it clutches the wall of this house
for shelter from the scorch
and blast of storms.
The air is apple, seaweed,
loud with the bark of seals,
shriek of gulls,
the redshank's trill.
Blossom is brief,
torn away by wind
before the bees are out.
Summer nights are deafened
by the rush of shearwaters
shrilling back to land.
This is an orchard of salt:
in the autumn gales
the shaken apples
dried by wind.
- Gill McEvoy
Second Prize Winner, Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
it clutches the wall of this house
for shelter from the scorch
and blast of storms.
The air is apple, seaweed,
loud with the bark of seals,
shriek of gulls,
the redshank's trill.
Blossom is brief,
torn away by wind
before the bees are out.
Summer nights are deafened
by the rush of shearwaters
shrilling back to land.
This is an orchard of salt:
in the autumn gales
the shaken apples
dried by wind.
- Gill McEvoy
Second Prize Winner, Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
Bulawayo
In the playground
we compare notes
to place ourselves.
Where you born then?
Watford. Harrow. London
English places.
I wait. Holding back.
Then I say it, rolling the vowel sounds
slowly on my tongue,
casual like.
Bul-a-way-o.
What? Where’s that?
Low key, shrug.
Africa.
Africa?
Wow. Then silence.
Staring at me. No one can top that.
I walk off slowly, nonchalant like.
I don’t know what Bul-a-way-o is.
I know it’s in Africa.
They tell me nothing about it.
Too busy with the present,
to bother about that past time in Africa.
I don’t care, I’m different, special,
‘cos of Bul-a-way-o.
Its mine, my place,
I came from there.
No one else does, ever.
In the album, a black and white picture
of small me on some steps in a garden
and an ‘arma-dillo’, strange creature,
in Bul-a-way-o.
I like the name
Bul-a-way-o,
where I was born.
No one can top that.
- Anna Meryt
First Prize winner, Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
we compare notes
to place ourselves.
Where you born then?
Watford. Harrow. London
English places.
I wait. Holding back.
Then I say it, rolling the vowel sounds
slowly on my tongue,
casual like.
Bul-a-way-o.
What? Where’s that?
Low key, shrug.
Africa.
Africa?
Wow. Then silence.
Staring at me. No one can top that.
I walk off slowly, nonchalant like.
I don’t know what Bul-a-way-o is.
I know it’s in Africa.
They tell me nothing about it.
Too busy with the present,
to bother about that past time in Africa.
I don’t care, I’m different, special,
‘cos of Bul-a-way-o.
Its mine, my place,
I came from there.
No one else does, ever.
In the album, a black and white picture
of small me on some steps in a garden
and an ‘arma-dillo’, strange creature,
in Bul-a-way-o.
I like the name
Bul-a-way-o,
where I was born.
No one can top that.
- Anna Meryt
First Prize winner, Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
Sunday 14 August 2011
Lupus UK Poetry Competition 2011, Results & Judge's Report
Lupus is a terrible illness that should to be better known and understood so I was pleased that a poetry competition was to be held to raise awareness about it and raise funds for the charity Lupus UK, and I was honoured to be asked to judge it.
There were a lot of entries to this very worthwhile competition and many were of a very high standard. There were a number of outstanding poems that stayed in the mind long after they had been read. I am pleased to announce the following results;
First Prize: Bulawayo by Anna Meryt
Second Prize: The Bardsey Apple, eifel ynys enlli by Gill McEvoy
Third Prize: Rhythm by Lesley Burt
Highly Commended: Afternoon by Clare Foges
Highly Commended: Werner Herzog’s documentary about the Chauvet cave paintings discovered in 1993 by Terry Jones
It was a pleasure to read so many fine poems, although that always leads to a real problem in picking prize winners, and ultimately this choice becomes very difficult and dependent on very marginal considerations. Most importantly the winning poems here were original and presented theme or narratives which were intriguing, unusual and memorable. The writing in these poems is of a high standard, but ultimately it was the subjects and the way they were approached and the treatment given that attracted attention and won out.
I thought it might be worthwhile saying something of the errors of technique or construction which caused some otherwise good poems to miss out on the final cut.
Here are a few quotes which help drive my own poetic philosophy and which I recommend every poet to consider:
Ezra Pound: “Go in fear of abstraction. The poet presents details, he doesn’t comment.”
Aristotle: “Character is revealed only through action.”
William Carlos Williams: “Ideas only through things.”
Goethe: “I no sooner have an idea than it turns into an image.”
We live in a visual age, and poets should consider the images that they work with. Images are not just visual, they are based in all the senses, so think “senses” when writing. If you have a character in a poem pick up an apple, as well as seeing the apple let the reader feel it and smell it. This will help make the fruit real and draw the reader more into the experience of the poem.
I do not like to see too many adjectives being used in poems as they draw the power from the nouns. So for me one well chosen adjective is better than a poem full of them. Adverbs on the other hand should be avoided as for me they signal a poor choice of verb. If the right verb is chosen then there is usually no need to condition it with an adverb. It is also true that the base form of the verb is far better to use whenever possible as it is more immediate and direct than other forms.
There are a couple of other issues which come up when judging competitions or editing poetry publications. The first is where a rhyming form is used and words or whole lines are included in order to follow the form and make a rhyme, rather than to develop the subject, narrative or poem. Rhyme is important, but no more important than any of the other poetic devices that can drive a poem, and there are hundreds of them. Rhyme can be obvious and intrusive and when this happens, except in very few instances, it becomes the most outstanding aspect of the poem, so we end up with a poem where form is more important than substance. Rhyme is successful when it is hardly noticed and where it helps to add emphasis and structure without taking over the poem. A very difficult balance to achieve and one that is achieved only very rarely.
The second is where words or common phrases are used which are either a cliché or unnecessary. When a poem is completed to the poet’s satisfaction, they should then put it away for a short time, before returning to it for a final edit. At this point every word needs to earn its place in the final draft. Read the poem aloud listen to what it is saying. Challenge every word for its necessity, particularly the small connective words that slip in unnoticed.
I would like to wish all entrants to the competition good luck with their writing and my congratulations to the winner, placed poets, and those commended.
Jim Bennett
There were a lot of entries to this very worthwhile competition and many were of a very high standard. There were a number of outstanding poems that stayed in the mind long after they had been read. I am pleased to announce the following results;
First Prize: Bulawayo by Anna Meryt
Second Prize: The Bardsey Apple, eifel ynys enlli by Gill McEvoy
Third Prize: Rhythm by Lesley Burt
Highly Commended: Afternoon by Clare Foges
Highly Commended: Werner Herzog’s documentary about the Chauvet cave paintings discovered in 1993 by Terry Jones
It was a pleasure to read so many fine poems, although that always leads to a real problem in picking prize winners, and ultimately this choice becomes very difficult and dependent on very marginal considerations. Most importantly the winning poems here were original and presented theme or narratives which were intriguing, unusual and memorable. The writing in these poems is of a high standard, but ultimately it was the subjects and the way they were approached and the treatment given that attracted attention and won out.
I thought it might be worthwhile saying something of the errors of technique or construction which caused some otherwise good poems to miss out on the final cut.
Here are a few quotes which help drive my own poetic philosophy and which I recommend every poet to consider:
Ezra Pound: “Go in fear of abstraction. The poet presents details, he doesn’t comment.”
Aristotle: “Character is revealed only through action.”
William Carlos Williams: “Ideas only through things.”
Goethe: “I no sooner have an idea than it turns into an image.”
We live in a visual age, and poets should consider the images that they work with. Images are not just visual, they are based in all the senses, so think “senses” when writing. If you have a character in a poem pick up an apple, as well as seeing the apple let the reader feel it and smell it. This will help make the fruit real and draw the reader more into the experience of the poem.
I do not like to see too many adjectives being used in poems as they draw the power from the nouns. So for me one well chosen adjective is better than a poem full of them. Adverbs on the other hand should be avoided as for me they signal a poor choice of verb. If the right verb is chosen then there is usually no need to condition it with an adverb. It is also true that the base form of the verb is far better to use whenever possible as it is more immediate and direct than other forms.
There are a couple of other issues which come up when judging competitions or editing poetry publications. The first is where a rhyming form is used and words or whole lines are included in order to follow the form and make a rhyme, rather than to develop the subject, narrative or poem. Rhyme is important, but no more important than any of the other poetic devices that can drive a poem, and there are hundreds of them. Rhyme can be obvious and intrusive and when this happens, except in very few instances, it becomes the most outstanding aspect of the poem, so we end up with a poem where form is more important than substance. Rhyme is successful when it is hardly noticed and where it helps to add emphasis and structure without taking over the poem. A very difficult balance to achieve and one that is achieved only very rarely.
The second is where words or common phrases are used which are either a cliché or unnecessary. When a poem is completed to the poet’s satisfaction, they should then put it away for a short time, before returning to it for a final edit. At this point every word needs to earn its place in the final draft. Read the poem aloud listen to what it is saying. Challenge every word for its necessity, particularly the small connective words that slip in unnoticed.
I would like to wish all entrants to the competition good luck with their writing and my congratulations to the winner, placed poets, and those commended.
Jim Bennett
Friday 5 August 2011
Write about Childhood
"And even if you found yourself in some prison, whose walls let in none of the world's sound - wouldn't you still have your childhood, that jewel beyond all price, that treasure house of memories? Turn your attention to it." - Rainer Maria Rilke
Two new competitions have now been announced at Excel for Charity on the theme of Childhood in aid of Stepping Stones Nigeria.
The Poetry competition is to be judged by Susanna Roxman author of imagining seals, while the Short Story competition is to be judged by Toni Kan, author of Nights of the Creaking Bed.
Stepping Stones Nigeria (SSN) is a UK Charity whose work saves, protects and transforms the lives of thousands of vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Nigeria. They are a small and effective charity that works from a child-rights approach doing everything in their power to ensure that children in the Niger Delta get a properhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif education, healthcare, food and protechttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giftion. All of their partner organisations are run by inspirational Nigerians whose work goes a long way to dispel the negative stereotypes that are often held by people from outside of Nigeria. They all share a commitment to upholding the highest standards in accountability, transparency and effective service delivery. Above all, these organisations work tirelessly to bring positive change to the lives of some of the most needy children on the planet.
Learn more and enter the competitions here:
Poetry Competition
Short Story Competition
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