Poetry Competition Winner! See Poetry Community!

Results of the uni Poetry Competition October 2005-10-20

Will the winner please make contact with Michael Griffith to collect this year’s first prize. Will all place getters also re-submit their winning poems (together with a photo) to the Poetry Community (this is not compulsory but it would be a nice gesture!)
This document will be posted into all WebCT Literature units and into LiveJournal Poetry Community: http://www.livejournal.com/community/poetrywcom/

The judges decisions are final.
Judges were:
Carolyn G
Olivia P
Rebecca I
Launcelot R
Michael G

1st Prize went to the poem “Chalcedony Shoes” published 12/09 by http://www.livejournal.com/users/publicdna/
Alias David N: congratulations David.(1st year)

The following were the next placegetters:

2nd “Out in my Backyard” published 25/07 by
http://www.livejournal.com/users/shaunfarlow/
Alias Shaun F: congratulations Shaun.

3rd “I am Arthur” published 16/09 by
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ms_cellaneous/
Alias Jennifer S: congratulations Jennifer

4th “A Beautiful Mind” published 18/09 by
http://www.livejournal.com/users/stepha1/
Alias Stephanie A: congratulations Stephanie

5th “Real vs Ideal” published 19/09 by
http://www.livejournal.com/users/daniel_gleeson/
Alias Daniel Gleeson: congratulations Daniel

6th “The Algarve” published 7/09 by
http://www.livejournal.com/users/Archie74/
Alias Yasmin C: congratulations Yasmin

These were the best six from a massive number of poems contributed to the Poetry LiveJournal Community hosted by Michael Griffith as part of the Literature Units at uni. Many of the contributing poets are “first-time” poets and this includes several of those gaining a place in the first six.
Selecting these 6 was not easy and there are definitely a number of other VERY talented young poets who deserve to be in this list…. but a competition IS a competition and the best thing that it has achieved is that it has encouraged many young writers to test their writing “wings”. So well done to you all.
The Poetry Community will CONTINUE UNABATED during the recess. Contributions are invited from ALL students at uni (irrespective of their subject specialization). There is a distinct possibility that this community will go NATIONAL….

Here are a few of the judges comments on the winning poems:

1. Chalcedony Shoes

Initially I liked the imagery and form. The long lines and the seperation of lines suggested age and disintegration, like the shoes. I then researched “chalcedony” in Answers.com and realised the author was linking the hidden beauty and treasured nature of these shoes with a mineral quartz, called Chalcedony and possibly semi-precious, hidden in the earth. I found it clever and nostalgic.

Wonderful use of similes that take you way beyond themselves into their widest context, including their history. And what a wonderful surprising ending… a real ephiphany!

2. Out in my Backyard

This poem has an emotional quality to it. There is a sense of slumbering awareness in the beginning but warmth, light and the character of the day draw you in. Everything has a personality, even the verandah, and it all draws you back to the joy and wonder of a beautiful day outside. I particularly liked the sense of friendship the writer experiences with the creatures in the garden. They are not ‘the’ kookaburra or ‘the’ fly but my friends, kookaburra and fly. A touch of “Wind in the Willows”.

…out in my backyard (beautiful imagery, nive and flowing to read and the australian subject/influence is a nice change!)

What an amazing transformation of an ordinary scene into something beautiful and extraordinary! Great sense of imagery, rhythm and form.

3. I am Arthur

The use of myth drew me to this poem. Arthur, Icarus and Midas, all struggling for something they value personally but each goal brings something they had not considered or wanted. The author of this poem links his/herself to myth and fails also to achieve the desired outcome. I also found the form very interesting and the fact that each line of
each stanza is almost identical in word length. The last stanza differs more in this way but to me this says that while “I” am the myth “I” am also capable of choosing the
situation or changing it.

I am Arthur – I liked the way this poem finds a unique meaning in famous legends and its ability to express a contemporary view – especially of the self.

I am arthur (cleverly written, quite personal and revealing but only if the audience reads between the lines a bit. i like that.)

4. A Beautiful Mind – for the wonderful simplicity of the diction used conveying an innocence, an insightfulness that portrays the themes expressed in the poem.

Great subject focussed in the line “His illness made him better”. Written with real feeling and understanding.

5. real vs ideal (love this poem because it is unexpected, a great move away from the cliche of bad “teenage poetry” [i hope objective value judgements are allowed!])

Terrific sense of form as the universe e x p a n d s and then comes to a CRUNCH… great taste for the effective and unusual word.

6. The best out of this group is definitely “The Algarve” – its vivid sensory description, the alliterations used, the beat, rythm and flow of the poem has made it a very captivating piece of work. This poem takes you there.