SLQ POETRY & SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS, MARCH 2013 RESULTS

Results of the Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry & Short Story Competitions (March 2013) ere !oth sche"ule" for announcement to"ay# $pril 30th# ho e%er the short story results are not yet in& 'he (u")e# *ate +orsley# nee"s a further ee, to complete the a"(u"ication process& 'herefore the short story results ill !e announce" on 'hurs"ay# -th May& .in" !elo the results of the Poetry Competition (u")e" !y /0 +ar" ic,& SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY POETRY COMPETITION (MARCH 2013) RESULTS COMMENDED POEMS Re!ecca 1il,au 2 $ 1lue 3ancer Spea,s 4ic, Pem!erton 2 Ca)e 5restlin) for 3ummies Ro)er 6l,in 2 6lemental $n"y .a throp 2 +are 6ileen Carney +ulme 2 7mpossi!le 4o 8ill Mc6%oy 9Re%i%al Meetin)# 4orth Carolina Mar, 'otter"ell 2 Si" ell Street 3a%i" 5illiam Clemson 9'heorists in Conte:t Simon ;ac,son 2<n!orn HIGHLY COMMENDED Re!ecca 1il,au 2 $t Sea ;ulie Mellor 2 +ouse of 'horns Simon Collin)s 2 .our more ays of loo,in) at a !lac,!ir" WINNERS 3r" Pri0e= R7C+$R3 /RMR/3 2 Letter to the 8rim Reaper 2n" Pri0e= 17LL L>'+8/6 2 7 Remem!er 1st Pri0e= ;7M 16446'' 2 in the car par, of the Pon"erosa Caf? ;<386@S R6P/R'# S64'746L L7'6R$R> Q<$R'6RL> P/6'R> C/MP6'7'7/4 (M$RC+ 2013) 1y /A +$R357C* ;u")in) a competition is al ays an e"ucation# re%ealin) a uniBue cross9section of hat is popular an" hat isn@t amon)st poets& Perhaps it@s the omnipresence of 1rian Co: on our tele%ision screens# !ut astronomy supplie" !y far the most popular source of metaphors amon)st entries= there ere )ala:ies an" constellations e%ery here# some of hich spiralle" into the final fifteen& /n the other han"# if there@s one thin) that seems to !e losin) popularity# it@s punctuation& 7 confess to !ein) more than a little concerne" a!out this& 5hilst the innin) poem mana)es to "efy the pa)e@s )ra%ity an" !alance or"s perfectly on the

pa)e ithout the use of comma# full stop or safety net# so many entries seeme" to !e the pro"uct of either not un"erstan"in) hat punctuation "oes or simply not !otherin)& 7f or"s are the scaffol"in) upon hich e support meanin)# punctuation is the nuts an" !olts# an" it ta,es a %ery "eft en)ineer to ,eep the scaffol"in) aloft ithout them& 'oo many of the entries collapse" into heaps of or"s an" ima)es# their relationships to each other poorly "elineate"& Rhymin) %erse is apparently still out of fa%our# an" fe of the rhyme" entries ere confi"ent or a"%enturous& 'his sai"# the su!tle rhythms of free %erse as often a (oy to e:perience& <nli,e a son) lyric# a poem has to contain its o n music# an" there as much to en(oy# not only in the short9list# !ut in a num!er of poems hich "i"n@t Buite ma,e the final cut& $n" there ere a num!er of stron) poems hich "i"n@t en" up amon)st the commen"ation 2 the lon)9list too, a couple of ee,s of (ostlin) in the pac, !efore the lea"ers starte" to separate themsel%es an" pull ahea"& So# hat a!out those final si:C D.our more ays of loo,in) at a !lac,!ir"@ appeals !ecause it en)a)es ith Dthe canon@ in a ay that is itty an" personal# particularly in the thir" stan0a (althou)h on my copy 7 ha%e compulsi%ely a""e" a comma after the first line)& $ fresh e:ercise that punches sli)htly a!o%e its ei)ht& .irst lines are important# an" D+ouse of 'horns@ ha" me from its openin) phrase& 'hrou)hout# the prosaic scratches a)ainst the fol,loric to create an uncomforta!le thrill until it closes ith that on"erful Dsoun" li,e ,nuc,les crac,in)@& 5oul" 7 chan)e anythin)C 5ell# the arro s are not as stron) a simile as the shar,s@ teeth# !ut it@s only a sli)ht "ip in this ti)ht# spi,y poem& D$t sea@ is another tactile "eli)ht& Rea" it alou" an" en(oy the taste of the or"s= Dit e!!s from the Buic,# sharp san" hile roc, pools EE spume ith cau)ht stars&@ 7n a poem that pro%i"es an o!(ect lesson in here to !rea, lines# 7 particularly li,e" this e:ten"e" !reath !et een stan0as& 7n thir" place# DLetter to the 8rim Reaper@ is another "ecepti%ely simple poem hich is nonetheless !eautifully controlle"& 'his is one of those poems that at first )lance seems li,e a prose passa)e choppe" into neat len)ths# !ut then the rhythms ,ic, in# the lon)# stretchin) sentence pullin) a)ainst the short line structure# hile the rhymes !o! to the surface# steer the sense on ar"# !efore it all comes to that flat# colloBuial 2 an" hopeless 2 utterance& D7 Remem!erF@ is an alto)ether "ifferent poem of en"in)s& 'he su!(ect coul" !e ma ,ish# !ut the first9person a""ress an" lac, of plea"in) 2 e%en in that col" closin) statement 2 ren"er this intensely mo%in)& 'he ay thou)hts lose their moorin)s# eli"e ith reminiscences an" asi"es# is utterly con%incin)& >et# as ith the thir"9place poem# the effect of plain speech is the result of carefully controlle" rhythms# !alance" lines an"# in this case# Buite "istur!in) patterns of repetition& 'o har, !ac, to my openin) remar,s# Din the car par, of the Pon"erosa Caf?@ is a poem that "oesn@t nee" punctuation# each or" pinne" ith precision to the hite fiel"& 7t )i%es us (ust enou)h& 'here is nothin) fussy# from the openin) catalo)ue of hi,ers@ eBuipment to the Dfe trees@ of the final stan0a# yet the action is all happenin) !et een these concrete "etails& 'he ine%ita!ility of a!an"onment ma,es us return imme"iately to the start of the

poem to loo, for clues# an" to s,etch in our o n "etails& 7t as# 7 a"mit# a close call# !ut this is the poem that has haunte" me hen 7@%e turne" my min" to other thin)s# an" for that reason it )ets the first pri0e& 9 /0 +ar" ic,

Congratulations to the winners and commended poets. We shall be contacting all winners within 7 business days with their notifications of achievement and for publication permissions. If you are a winner or commended author in this competition and for any reason you have not received mail from us within 7 business days of this announcement kindly get in touch by writing to competitions@sentinelpoetry.org.uk