Poetry Publications: Pre-Raphaelite Poems

This is actually Sandymouth in Cornwall (rather than the Kent coast), but I like the theme of sheep on the sea cliffs ...

Congratulations to Deborah Harvey for winning the Pre-Raphaelite Society Poetry Competition!

I heard last night that my entry will be included in the new competition anthology. My poem is an ekphrastic one inspired by the 1852 Holman Hunt painting, 'Our English Coasts' (aka 'Strayed Sheep').

Last year's anthology can be bought (and previewed) here. 

The 'Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde' Exhibition is on at Tate Modern in London until 13 January 2013.

Competition Corner (4): Kukai Results ~ Rainbow

Rainbow over Mumbles, Swansea, Wales, UK

My Haiku below was voted 7th in the 3rd International Kukai on Rita Odeh's Catching the Moment site. The kigo was 'rainbow'. There were 145 haiku from 59 haijin, representing 16 countries.

=============================
 7th Place:

a dark day–
my spirit restored
by a rainbow

Caroline Gill, UK
0,2,1=5

=============================

If you would like to take part in the FOURTH INTERNATIONAL KUKAI, you will find details here. According to the Haiku World site, 'a kukai is a peered review poetry contest. A topic is assigned by the secretary, and all poets submit their poems on that topic to the secretary. An 'anonymized' list is then distributed to all participating poets and they are invited to vote. Votes are returned anonymously to the secretary who tallies the votes and re-sends the poems to the participants, this time with names and points revealed.'

Fiesta Time (12): IpArt Short Story Competition Winners Announced in Spiegel Tent

Photo shoot with Second Prize Winner, Ed Broom (3rd from left)

David (Gill) on the left was taking part in the proceedings with UCS colleague, Gill Lowe.

Ed Broom with the Mayor of Ipswich

M.J. Hyland and Georgina Wroe

M.J. Hyland congratulates Ed Broom

Trying out the plush seating inside the Spiegel Tent in Christchurch Park!

Congratulations to winner, Ric Hardacre!

P.S. You can read a feature on the short story as a genre here. 

Poetry Matters (16): Awel Aman Tawe Competition 2012

Wind power (as it once was) . . .

I wonder what global warming means to ME, to YOU?

Perhaps, like me, you have recently been mesmerised by the stunning images and stirred by the alarming commentary in the recent BBC series, 'Frozen Planet'. I see there is still a programme of highlights to come.

Living metres from the water and having had a telephone call about a particularly high tide from the Environment Agency in the last fortnight, I have had cause to ponder this question once again. If you write poetry in English or Welsh, you may like to enter the Awel Aman Tawe Poetry Competition for 2012 on (you guessed) . . .

CLIMATE CHANGE. 

Carol Ann Duffy is the judge for entries in English. Elin ap Hywel is the judge for entries in Welsh. The closing date is 31 March 2012.

Details of the anthology from last year's Awel Aman Tawe competition can be found here.

Going Green (1): Writing Workshop on Climate Change

I have been continuing to enjoy the annual Dylan Thomas Festival in the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea.

I spent Saturday afternoon at an enjoyable, informative and highly stimulating workshop on the topical theme of 'Climate Change'. The afternoon was organised by Emily Hinshelwood and led by eco-poet, Susan Richardson (and here). It proved a very popular event, and a good time was had by all. We balanced a spell of organic writing with a time set aside for a more structured approach, in which each participant began to create a poem in response to various prompts around the given theme.

Emily Hinshelwood and Susan Richardson

The workshop was delivered under the auspices of Awel Aman Tawe. This organisation is running a poetry competition to encourage people to write their own 'Climate Change' poems. Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of Wales, and Menna Elfyn, award winning poet have agreed to act as judges. The closing date is 30 November 2010. There are categories for adults and children, with prizes of £200, £50 and £25 (adults) and £20, £10 and £5 (children). Further information is available from the Awel Aman Tawe website, if you tap 'competition' into the search box. It's time to formulate those ideas.

Competition Corner (7): Writelink Poetry - Seal Bay

Mother and Pup

I have just heard that my poem, 'The Wishing Woman of Seal Bay' (a Lilibonelle) has been awarded First Prize in the Writelink 'Grape and Grain' Poetry Competition. 

The judge was Jenny Moore, (Winner of the Divine Poetry Competition 2006, runner-up in Mslexia Poetry Competition 2007, Winner of Best Devon Poem in 2009 Plough Prize).

My thanks to all who voted or left comments on the Writelink site. 

Magazine Moment (17) : Wendy Webb's TIPS for Writers, issue 79

Based on the Mermaid Stall in Zennor Church, Cornwall

I have been greatly enjoying Wendy Webb's 79th edition of TIPS for Writers (and here). The attractive technicolour cover shows Wendy, quill in hand, at Coleridge's desk in Nether Stowey. The back cover (and as a left hander, I usually begin at the back) shows the artwork covers by Kay Weeks and Dee Sunshine of more of Wendy's publications .

The issue begins with a tribute to poet, Simon Wood, whose fine poems I have enjoyed and admired over a number of years. Simon's contribution to the small press world of poetry will be missed.

Bernard Jackson's Rondelet for Autumn sets a seasonal tone, with its 'sunlit groves' and 'jewelled cobwebs'.

We are transported on through a landscape of alliteration (e.g. 'Mordor on a moody moonlit midnight') to the Sagarmatha Himalayas by Dr Marc Latham, creator of the Folding Mirror Poetry form.

For those who like to follow in the enchanting footsteps of the Foodleflap, there is A Foodleflap Sonnet by Bernard M. Jackson, in which the compelling creature pursues its quest for currant buns!

My favourite 'serious' poem is almost certainly Santorini by David Norris-Kay. The poet evokes this fascinating island with its 'small twinkling towns' and 'dark cliffs topped white as burnished bone'. 

Some poems concern subjects that are closer to hand, and I was particularly drawn to the examples of the Brentor Sonnet, a form created by Wendy with its split lines [6/7 and 13/14] 'for visual and sound effect'. Brentor is, in Wendy's words, 'a hill transfigured in the mist' on the edge of Dartmoor, with a chapel perched on the top of it. As it happens, it was a favourite haunt of some of my Tavistock-based relations in the early 1900s. One of the latest Brentor Sonnets in this issue is by John N. Brown. It is about a barge on a canal. Another - this time by Peter Davies - concerns the changing faces of the Suffolk landscape. Two more can be found on p.26, Autumn Love by international Haiku prize winner, Claire Knight - and Oh let me tell by Peter Geoffrey Paul Thompson. 

For those who enjoy taking part in poetry competitions, p15 of the latest issue is devoted to these. They form part of the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the magazine. Entry is open to those who live in the UK and to those who are members of Norfolk Poets and Writers. 

Why not join us all as TIPS celebrates its first golden decade? The current magazine costs £3 (in the UK). eTIPS is a free pdf which is available to all and can be delivered to your inbox several times a year, on request.

You can find Wendy's email here if you would like to receive the monthly ezine or would like to take out a subscription to the full print magazine. There is something for most tastes ... the formal (with many of Wendy's own forms), the informal, the serious, the funny and even, on occasions, the absurd.

And as I mentioned, the Coleridge cover is wonderful, too!

You may be wondering about the mermaid in the photo above. To find out more about Wendy's association with these fascinating creatures, I would encourage you to take out a subscription to TIPS (or eTIPS). You might also take a look on Amazon ... e.g. here.

Thank you, Wendy, for a most enjoyable read.

Competition Corner (7): Oxfam North

Further details here ...

Poetry Form Challenge (3): Haiku

Alan Summers said... For anyone who might be tempted to enter a haiku competition, we are now open until 21st November 2010.

The With Words International Online Haiku Competition 2010: With Words

all my very best,

Alan
With Words

Competition Corner (6): Writelink Poetry

I was thrilled and delighted to gain Second Place in the latest Writelink poetry competition on the theme of 'Rivals'.

My poem is about the creatures on the Burges wallpaper at Knightshayes Court, a National Trust property near Tiverton.

I've been 'bumping along' for days with my dominant [left] arm in a sling following a fall on Skye - so this news really cheered me up. Incidentally, the form I used was the French Quatern. It was not a form I had tried before, but as many of you know, I love to experiment.

Puffin Quest (5): THANK YOU to all who voted!

It's those puffins again!

My sincere thanks to all who voted for my puffin poem, 'A Chink in the Sky' in the Writelink Spring Fever poetry competition. I am pleased to report that it made the 'grade for publication' in the anthology in the judge's eyes by the skin of its teeth (or should that be by the tip of its bill?).

'A Chink in the Sky' came in at number 10 in judge, Magdalena Ball's shortlist.

If my poem had been number 11, all your votes would in fact have saved my puffins from 'near-extinction' (as the final publication list comprised the judge's Top 10 poems plus the 10 poems with the most votes) - so thank you very much for your support.*

The poem will be published in the Writelink Spring Fever anthology in due course.


* Many of you will know that puffins are in the Amber category on the RSPB 'conservation' list...

Competition Corner (5): The National 2010

Hearty congratulations to Helen Dunmore on winning the National Poetry Competition with her poem, 'The Malarkey'. You can read about it here in The Guardian.

Competition Corner (4): Spring Fever

March 2010: Sunset
Seeing out the last traces of winter?

Above: clumps of spawn underwater.
Clumps of spawn float to the surface in large round clumps
so that the eggs can be warmed by the sunshine.

Above and below: surface spawn
clumps so that the sun can warm the eggs.
The spawn floats to surface in large round clumps so that the sun can warm the eggs.

Below: Frog

I wonder which date marks the start of spring for you.

Here in Wales we often associate St David's Day on 1 March with the start of the new season. Midnight (more or less) on 20 March is considered the official first day of spring for 2010 in the Northern Hemisphere, as this corresponds with the Vernal Equinox when the sun will lie directly over the equator. The Southern Hemisphere will observe the Autumnal Equinox on that day. I understand that Australia and New Zealand designate the first day of September as their official first day of spring.

I wonder what signs you particularly associate with the new season. Here in Wales it could be the sight of new lambs or the first daffodil. We saw our first frog spawn (pictured above) at the weekend in Carmarthenshire. The frog photo was 'one I took earlier', but I thought it was encouraging to think that this handsome creature is the end product of the metamorphosis - not forgetting the tadpole stage in the middle.

There is still time to go over to the WriteLink Spring Fever Poetry Competition and cast a vote and/or leave a comment. The poll will close on 21 March, so there are only a few days to go.


You can read my puffin poem here (and the page gives access to all the other competing poems). Details of the contest can be found in my previous post here. A big thank you to those who have been along and left a mark already!

Competition Corner (3): Writelink Spring Fever

OVER TO YOU... (Spring is in the Air)

Along with a fair few others, I have entered a poem in the WriteLink 'Spring Fever' competition. The form in my case is a Rondeau Redoublé.

If we are members of forums or have our own blogs, we are encouraged to include a link to our poem (which also gives access to all the other contenders - so do look at these, too).

You will be able to cast a vote and/or leave a comment, if you would like to do so, up until the closing date of 21 March 2010. I suggest you do not use my name if you address a comment to me on the WriteLink site.

I am posting the link to my poem here. The organiser tells competitors that while 'lots of votes will get you on the Site Short List', the 'final judging will be by a human judge!'

The 10 poems with the most votes will be added to the judge's 10 favourites. The Top 20 poems will feature in an anthology. First, second and third prizes will be awarded by the judge. On behalf of those of us who are taking part, thank you very much for your interest and support!

P.S. For some wonderful definitions of poetry, you might like to follow this link. I wonder which works best for you...

P.P.S. Cathy of 'One Pink Goose' has a delightful puffin picture on her excellent site ... here. Don't miss it!

Competition Corner (2): The Haddon Library of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Cambridge

The results of the Haddon Library Poetry Competition were announced at a prizegiving ceremony on 25 September 2009, as part of the Alumni Weekend.

800, 1209, 2009 HADDON LIBRARY POETRY COMPETITION

Winning Poems

1st prize: His eightieth (Roger Elkin)

2nd prize: The story of 800 (Mary Courtney)

3rd prize: Sleepover at the Museum (Caroline Gill)

[Click on poem title to read poem or click on poet's name to read about poet, in each case].

The competition was part of the Cambridge 800 celebrations, and poems had to incorporate one of the anniversary numbers - 800, 1209 or 2009. You can read the University of Cambridge Press Release here.

Competition Corner (1): Save the frogs and don't forget the local ladybirds

Here is an unusual poetry competition to highlight the plight of the frog. The deadline is 4 May 2009. There is also an art contest, too. For those of you who prefer ladybirds, there are some amazing photographs from all over Australia on the Catalyst Survey Gallery. Sadly our local ladybirds are under threat. The invading Harlequin has been sighted in Wales. The Telegraph reports that Britain's rarest spider, the ladybird spider, is alive and well; but this is no cause for complacency.