Note From Organiser

Another busy year for our little international poetry competition, and it was truly international with many entries from France, Germany, Australia and other parts of the globe.

The standard as ever was exemplary and the skim down to the shortlist was difficult with well over 300 fine examples of poetry pouring in. This time round Romance was NOT the common theme, instead a wide array of themes, tones and styles graced our eyes and moved our emotions; there really are some talented people out there.

In the end though, this years judge Carole Baldock had the final say and her report is below.

CLICK HERE TO READ WINNING ENTRIES

SWC Annual International Poetry Competition 2017 Judges Report

According to some people, there is a difference between competition poems and those submitted to a magazine – can’t see it myself, because in both instances, the focus is on the best work. As to what is best, that’s always subjective. As is humour, which is where we’ll start.

I have been known to point out that all too often, Orbis seems to be full of doom and gloom so the light-hearted is greeted with open arms, and publication. That said, humour is a tricky thing to master but what’s interesting is that it’s invariably in rhyme, and as some of you may know, Orbis is one of the few magazines which continue to publish such work – I love a good rhyme.

Incidentally, once you’re down to a shortlist, most submissions unfortunately rule themselves out through the tiniest of details – or maybe it’s a case of choosing a judge who tends somewhat towards nit-picking…But like they say: shame to spoil the ship for a ha’porth of tar, in particular when it’s a little something which can easily be remedied, such as spelling; grammar; inconsistent layout etc – yes, the dreaded semicolon, or omission thereof, should be in that list.

For example, the poem I found the most amusing was not labelled with ‘H’ but even though technically disqualified, it deserves an Honorary Mention.

‘Trumpery, Trumpety-Trump’ by Grahame Lloyd

Runner-up: the vast majority of humorous poems use rhyme because it adds punch. This used partial rhyme, which I am not generally a fan of since it can be jarring but it works well here. And such a daft idea, with an incongruous twist.

‘The Man in the Red Sombrero’ by J Gorman

The winner of the Humour prize could not really be faulted, except that the poem deserved a more interesting title. But it sauntered along jauntily so there was no sense of the poet desperately seeking for words which sound the same instead of focusing on imagery and language – let alone being humorous. A clever comment on Society, all the more so for not preaching, and the message was conveyed with a great deal of wit, and puns: eg, ‘down at heel’; ‘poor old soul’. And a clever twist at the end.

‘Peggotty-Sue’ by A K S Shaw

****

Main Prizes

Honourable Mention

‘A Blue Time’ by Judy Drazin

A very personal poem, extremely moving. It dealt with a difficult subject with memorable delicacy. And you could argue that the often seemingly indiscriminate line breaks making it a somewhat disjointed read were appropriate, given the theme. Nonetheless, it may have had more impact with less of a distraction if the rhyme scheme had been consistent and line endings were more logical and effective, used to add focus with stronger words rather than ‘a’ or ‘my’.

3^rd

‘Bombs Don’t Fall’ by Scott Elder

2^nd

‘Baby Sheep’ by Leo Holloway

One, richly painted, the other, plain speaking; the former, on fairly familiar territory; the other portraying a surreal landscape – no, I did not quite get the latter but there again, one of my favourite pieces of advice about poetry: you don’t have to understand a poem to appreciate it. It also had a stronger – stranger – conclusion; the former, again, may have worked better with some lines the other way round.

In both cases, I could complain about the use of dashes: seemed to be used mainly to replace punctuation rather than reserved to add emphasis/drama; because 1 of them seemed superfluous, the other had less of an effect. And one misplaced capital letter in the former but with both, I could not fault the line endings nor the use of language – marvellous metaphors in the former: ‘lambs scuttling on salad-server legs’; stark comments in the latter: ‘The wind was ever from the north’. Both, in their own way, were heart-felt, and so beautifully crafted, they have the same effect on the reader.

1^st

‘I will buy a trunk’ by Cathy Whittaker

So what was I looking for? Originality: ideas, imagery and language, and the winning poem caught my attention right from the start – although maybe an unfair advantage since I happen to know Whitehaven. But still, pretty flawless, even transcending a full stop which should have been a comma. And there were a couple of line endings I could quibble about, while a couple of stanzas may have been more effective swapped around.

Nevertheless, it was written with considerable authority and verve, successfully transforming the everyday (garage full of tools) into the extraordinary with some striking metaphors: ‘nightmares squared like maps’. Based, sort of, on ‘pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag’, it effortlessly manages to avoid reading like a list, conjuring up memories, good and bad, being full of vivid imagery and ideas, often very wittily: ‘I’ll think of a number which is not my birthday’. Above all, it is that very rare thing: a happy poem.

As I was taught, many years ago, studying for a degree in Librarianship, one of the golden rules of business is getting it right the first time, every time, although, fair enough, that’s extremely, perhaps impossibly, stringent. And should never, ever be applied to computers of course.

But the finalists can rest assured, they passed this text with flying colours. And authority; work which has been a labour of love but in being expertly crafted, read effortlessly: entertaining and often educational. And something which it would be a pleasure to consider for publication in Orbis.

2016 Story Competition Roundup

This was an excellent year for entries and the shortlisters had a lot of trouble sifting out the final batch from the hundreds received. This year’s most distant entry was from Australia, with Cyprus being the next closest, the majority coming from the south of the UK. The favourite themes this year were ‘Ghosts’ (inevitably), ‘War’ and of course ‘Unlikely Romance’ which always gets our hearts pumping.

Of course a year of SWCSSC cannot go by without a spot of controversy, this time in the form of a very short entry that was practically a poem, but was accepted as a type of flash fiction after much debate.

In the end though, no matter a stories credentials or history, our Chief Judge has the last say and this year it is respected sci-fi author Robert Scott-Norton who has agreed to fill those heavy boots and tell us who has the honour of rising up from the literary mire to win this year’s comp.

To Read Winning Entries Click Here

Chief Judge’s Comments – Robert Scott-Norton

Third Place – The Dissolution by Theresa Curnow

A single setting. A man and his mother, and something bad outside the boarded up windows. A dead father who needs to be buried. This is bleak, yes, but the writer held my attention through this darkness. The characters were simple and true. There is no happy ending here; the story tracks on to its inevitable conclusion—but that scarcely matters.

There is an almost forgivable mini exposition dump towards the end that unbalanced things for me, but that ultimately doesn’t detract from an enjoyable read.

Second Place  – Maria’s Curse by Charles Warren

There’s a quest and a knight and a beast—there’s always a monster to be slain. In this tale we have a story within a story and it just about gets away with it because the author brings colour to the setting and characters. I felt like I was there, listening to the old woman recount her story. Description is handled well, with a strong sense of time and place created.

The final reveal is perhaps inevitable. The old woman archetype at play here was never going to be up to any good. And there’s a slight issue with pacing, I suspect due to the story within a story conceit. Those quibbles aside, this stood out from the pack as a strong runner-up.

First Place- An Act of War by Valerie Thompson

This had me from the first line. ‘Everyone was frightened, except me.’ OK, with such a strong hook, there’s every risk that the story fails to deliver, but the author delivered an impactful tale that drew me in immediately.

There’s a war. People are scared. What happens when the enemy gets a little too close for comfort? And what if you’ve got others in your care? Children?

It takes a young girl to solve the problem and her solution is all there in the story, but it still came as a surprise. The author obviously has a great understanding of feeding the plot.

With such a strong premise, the author had a great foundation for a tale that explored the ideas of losing hope and innocence. Language was tight and flowed simply and clean. Descriptions were evocative and characters brought to life with an effortless ease. Just enough of a sketch to make these characters breathe.

An Act of War is a worthy winner for this contest.

Note from competition organiser:

This year was a good one for entries, with some very high quality poems throughout the entire batch and many which could be worthy of prizes. Each respective poet should be proud of the work they have hopefully cast into the world and we have been glad to read each and every one. This year, the most distant entry came from California and the closest from about two roads over from where the group meets. The most obscure topic for a poem was an odd ditty about slippers and the most common topic was (surprise) relationships. Another noteworthy fact about this year over others was the number of people who took advantage of the 4 for £10 offer, boosting the numbers of very good verse we had to peruse significantly. Overall, the standard as ever was excellent and we wish you all well for future competitions.

 Judge’s Report from Lindsey Holland

It’s been an honour to judge the SWC Annual International Poetry Competition. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the entries, many of which stood out to me for their moments of insight, precise images or overall poetic sensitivity.

I’ll begin with the humour prize.

Humour in poetry is hard to get right. I was looking for poems which didn’t depend on easy rhymes and which showed a love of language and detail rather than simply cracking a joke.

The winning poem stood out for its narrative and detail as well as for its imaginative subject matter. We’re lulled into a sense of everydayness, and although we sense that something unusual will happen, the twist is surprising.

The winner is Pamela Trudie Hodge for her poem ‘Be Careful Who You Pick Up’

The main prize entries impressed me for their variety of style and subject. I was looking for poems which demanded to be read and read again, which took an idea and did something new with it. I was also looking for poems with focus—I wanted to have a clear sense of what the poem was about—and which left me either with strong visual images or with a sense that I had experienced something powerful and authentic. It’s perhaps needless to say that I was also looking for poetic technique: control of rhythm, form, voice and language.

I’ve chosen to commend one poem. This poem stayed with me for the way it links two events, and for it’s precise use of language. The images are strong and when I thought back through all the poems I’d read, it was one I remembered each time.

Well done to Kitty Donnelly for her poem ‘Migration’.

My top three poems emerged quite early on but that’s not to say that my final decision was an easy one. Each of these poems truly is a winner. I see much to admire in all three of them. I’m excited to be able to bring them the attention they deserve.

My 3^rd Prize goes to a poem which stood out for its confident voice and for the poet’s ability to add layer upon layer of detail. There’s a grittiness to the images but then they suddenly take off, using fantastical or mythological metaphor. Working class lives are made beautiful in this poem. It works on another level too, using a quotation to sensitively develop an idea, and threading this through the poem. The language is precise and steers clear of sentiment.

Well done to Peter Burgham for his poem ‘The Putter-Togetherers’.

2^nd Prize goes to a poem which impressed me for the gentleness of its observation and keen eye for significant detail. There’s a curiosity in this poem and an unwillingness to accept its subject at face value. It’s an ekphrastic poem, and I think this is often an easy type of poem to write. this poem is successful because it doesn’t simply describe the painting, instead it brings it to life, questioning what goes on before and after the painted moment, looking for the real lives behind the canvas. Technically it’s a very adept poem: the language is spare but exact and the images are strong.

Well done to John Clarke for his poem ‘Pouring Milk for the Master’

My 1^st prize and overall winner is a poem which haunted me. The voice is insistent and raw. It’s a brave poem in many ways, both in its subject and in the way it isn’t afraid to stumble, disagree with itself, loop back and forth. The poem questions itself and its subject and then questions again so that in a sense, the questioning is the essence of the poem. There’s something of Keat’s idea of negative capability here: life isn’t all about certainty. The voice of the poem conveys this so authentically—twisting and hesitating, repeating itself—that we could almost be listening to a person speak in the vernacular. But the poem is far more than this too. We’re given carefully chosen images which are surprising and precisely written, from the early stanzas to the final haunting line. The pain in this poem is so raw it’s palpable. There’s also love, fear, loss and determination in it. This poem would not leave me alone. I have great pleasure in announcing it as the winner.

Huge congratulations to Mary-Clare Newsham for her poem ‘Bed-Lined Corridor’

I’d like to thank you again for the honour of judging this competition, and also to congratulate you all for providing me with hours of reading wonderful poetry.

Lindsey.

---

The local prize was pulled due to insufficient interest and those entries put in for the main prizes. If you entered specifically with the ‘L’ mark and you wish for a refund on your entry fee, please contact us.