Poetry Competition

Here are the winning poems on the World Poetry Day competition. Check out the programme for the 2011 Whanganui Literary Festival to be held in September.

World Poetry Day – Local Poetry Competition

World Poetry Day was held on 21 March and the Whanganui Literary Festival Trust held a Poetry Competition to celebrate. As Chair of the Trust I would like to thank all the poets who entered poems and to congratulate the prize-winners, Jocelyn Tarrant, Angela Cuddihy, Elise Goodge, Mary Batten, Meg Hartfield, Kasey McDonnell and Dana Garrett.
We would also like to acknowledge our sponsors, Eyali G Cafe, Paiges Book Gallery and Embassy Cinema 3. The prize-giving event was a wonderful occasion for celebrating the verse form, made all the more special by most attendees writing their own poems and hanging them in the poetry gallery which Eyali G Cafe had become.
Celebrating World Poetry Day in March each year will become a regular feature of the Whanganui Literary Festival when it is planned to hold an annual poetry competition. The competition serves two purposes – the first is to provide an outlet to all those poets out there for whom there are very few places to send their creative works. The second is to raise funds for the biennial Whanganui Literary Festival. The response was strong this year raising several hundred dollars for the festival. We were fortunate to have well-known Whanganui personality, Hazel Menehira (pictured right), as judge.
Comments from Hazel Menehira FTCL, Judge for Wanganui Literary Festival Poetry Competition:

"A strong vein of passion for the beauty of New Zealand and its conservation came through the submissions for this contest.

"I was impressed by the thought provoking verbal images expressed in all poems entered. The blending of English and Te Reo in many was also praiseworthy making the poems unique to New Zealand. Congratulations to the aspiring poets of all ages dedicated enough to complete work to the standard achieved.

"Reading them aloud several times allowed me to select a strong group initially where the cadence and flow enhanced the lines. Then I was able to study further how form, and poetic devices were utilised to make the writing more effective.

"The predominant weakness revealed in submissions was the ‘over writing’. Many lines were hampered or laboured by the use of too many unnecessary words-eg. ‘the’ ‘and’ ‘to’. It is surprising how many words can be omitted to refine poetry whilst still retaining the essence. Even the winning poems could be tightened and improved further given this attention. Congratulations to poets" :

First:                Jocelyn Tarrant E Kara    "A fine eulogy in sprung rhythm, neatly contained with great use of metaphors to reveal the character it is a tribute to."

E Kara by Jocelyn Tarrant (1st place)

when you fell
barely a blade stirred;
only a fantail fluttered
farewell.

we sang;
talked your life out
pointed by the weatherworn
finger of your belief,
-       the deserted path,
now crooked with gorse,
too hard a way to God
talked in the tongue
the young no longer know.

No banner, nor tent-town
supported what you thought mattered;
simply a fenceline
determinedly resisting
invasions.
God your Bastion.

when you fell
no mighty totara sent shock
to your toiled land,
but in rain and leaves shading
breeze born karakia
breathed your concording

E kara, farewell

Second:           Angela Cuddihy Jellyfish "A delightful simple and effective descriptive lyric with contrasting rhythms."

Jellyfish by Angela Cuddihy              (second place adults)

Between sea and dune
The sand is embedded with tears
Portholes, slippery underfoot
Waiting for high water

A lone gull swoops
Pecking at stranded flesh
I prod and shoo
Remembering...
Plastic buckets, forked sticks,
Children running into wavelets, squeals of delight
At the plop of jelly

My relief when tears
Return to the sea.

Third:              Elise Goodge Tupuna "Ancestry- Meaningful, thought provoking totally N.Z. poem a blending of language and culture with personal insight."

Highly Commended:   Christine Mary Batten The Rock and Meg Hartfield The Wood-Turner

Under 18

First:                Dana Garrett Bliss   "The warmth of this simple poem was a delight. Praiseworthy use of contrasting line lengths and word selection."

Bliss by Dana Garrett (under 18 years winner)

Its inner sun shone as it danced among the flowers
Happiness floating in-between its other thoughts
As it soars
Flying above a land of cold hearts and cruel lies
And into a heaven of warmth
Its euphoria a torch, causing light to shine into its mind
It sings eternally
Rediscovering feelings it never could’ve felt before
This heat flooding its mind
Making it complete
Whole
One

Equal second: Kasey McDonnell The Fallen Soldiers "A simple and sincere lyric (reminiscent of The Clouds Rupert Brooke)."

The Fallen Soldiers by Kasey McDonnell     (second place under 18 years)

We are the men who watch from above
Our bodies lie still as a glove
We fought for our lives, our country, for peace
And now we lie in Flander's Fields
Poppies grow on the upturned soil
Where the crosses are planted
To remember us all
We are the soldiers that watched them fall
High in the skies we saw them go
We are the soldiers in Flander's Fields

Equal second:   Dana Garrett Dissemblance "Interesting and vital images but relying heavily on the abstract and a little more pointed concrete would assist the reader."

Check out the 2011 Festival Programme or go to the Writers Bios 2011 page to read the profiles of the authors at the 2011 Whanganui Literary Festival. Find more information on the Fringe events including the Children's Festival. Go to the News page for the latest updates on the festival or find background on the festival director, Joan Rosier-Jones. On this site you can also find the programme from the 2009 Literary Festival and the 2007 Literary Festival.

This page was last updated 12/08/2011