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THE PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH
TRUST (EXCEL FOR
CHARITY) POETRY COMPETITION 2009
Judge's Report
During my initial read through of just over 100 entries I put about
half of the entries into what might be termed a "little hope" pile.
Later I went through these again and about half a dozen were moved
out into the "more consideration" pile.
The ones left behind were little-hopers for a number a reasons. Some
wallowed in self pity while others were eulogies composed mainly of
well-worn clichés. A number were rants promoting stereotypical
attitudes with little to redeem them. Quite a few started well but
rambled on and petered out without reaching a rounded ending. More
were just simply boring. After several readings of the more hopeful
half, some 10 or 12 stood out a bit above the rest. Out of those I
chose the winners and four highly-commended poems. The organisers
had asked me to select an additional thirty to forty poems that
would form the basis of an anthology. Initially I chose about forty,
but after a couple of extra readings I left out a few weaker poems
and reduced the extras to 34.
The first of my four
highly-commended poems (in no particular order) is SIXTY FIVE YEARS
AGO - although there is a hint here of stereo-typing, the poem
resists the urge to moralise - a good example of a poem that shows
without telling. Next is DOLPHINING that uses subtly and a telling
last line that entices the reader. Then we have CARTING STONE which
is a solid piece of writing that leads its readers along with its
story. The last of the highly-commendeds is HER FIRST LESSON IN SIGN
LANGUAGE - in this the author chooses words carefully and precisely
to piece together a picture that grows and transforms. And so the
top three. Third prize goes to LEARNING TO FLY. Here again it is how
the poet chooses words to create and build and modify a picture that
impresses. The reader is left to work out for themselves whether the
poem is actually an allegory or not. That is what good poems are
good at doing; they urge the reader to think beyond the poem. Second
prize goes to THE TROUBLE WITH BEING A W - it is a really good fun
poem and not just in a jocular jaunty way. Although poems that start
with a quotation as their basis tend to put me off, this redeems
itself by not pontificating but just going with the flow. Some poems
in this manner would just ramble on and peter out, but this manages
to round itself off in a succinct ending. First prize goes to NIGHT
SHIFT ON THE DEMENTIA FLOOR - I was originally a little unsure
whether or not I should give such a sombre poem the first prize, but
in the end, after reading all the others, this is very much the best
of the bunch and so it has to be the winner. Although the subject is
indeed grim, unlike poems by some of the "little-hopers" it doesn't
wallow in misery, nor does it sentimentalise the situation. The
writing throughout is controlled, choosing its words carefully to
convey the scene it portrays. Writing doesn't get much better than
this.
Gerald
England
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