Poetry Results - 15th August, 2016

On 15^th August, poet, Roz Goddard, came to give feedback and announce the winners of our poetry competition. She said the first element in poetry should be the heart rather than the head and gave her comprehensive judging criteria, including the creation of lines and phrases that ‘caught' her, the poem’s effectiveness when read aloud, its look on the page and the skills of ‘poetic handicraft’ that it demonstrated. In first place was 'The Father's Tale' by Vicky Armstrong, praised for its excellent use of the Icarus myth, its skilful layout and its 'heartbreaking' effect. 'The Bryn' by Diana Lock was second, Jane Hempson-Jones' 'Peace' was third, and 'Haiku on Kuniyoshi' by Roz Balp was fourth. Roz Goddard commented on the effective use of imagery and the adoption of rhyme schemes which might either enhance or ‘hem the poem in'. In the question and answer session, she advised: ‘letting the words flow’, writing a first draft in prose and allowing the structure to emerge as well as reading lots of contemporary poetry through magazines like Rialto or Under the Radar. She encouraged the non-winners by saying that all judgements are ‘subjective and tell us much about the judge and her reading and experience.’