The judging panel (Dr Ted Reilly, Grant Fraser and Lyn Chatham) wish to thank all those who submitted entriestothe 2020 Yeats Poetry Prize. One hundred and sixty-nine poems were submitted. As to be expected, a range of topics was employed in the poems including: historical figures, transitions and travel, the material versus metaphysical world, the natural world, ageing, illness, sexual abuse and intimacy. It was pleasing to see sme ekphrastic work, inckuded as well.
However, the judges also wish to state that form or 'craft' was lacking in some of the works. inspiration and emotion are not the only prerequisites for poems to be succesful in this competition. For future years, this should be kept in mind. Also some of the works were of very short length, therefore being too slight to be in the final mix.
First and second placings in the prize are awarded to works which make use of classical references. 'Sappho's Daughters', the most accomplished poem of the entries, is a thoughtful poem drawing on the writer's knowledge of the subject and references. The poem'a title was probably taken from a critical studym Sappho's Immortal Daughters, by Margaret Williamson (1995)m where 'daughters' are the poems. The poem is technically proficient in that stanzas are set in sapphics, that is three long and one short, unrhymed lines. The address to Sappho and tone is sustained throughout. Second placing is awarded to 'Grave', which shows the writer knows and employs a set of classical references to good effect and is technically proficient, mainly usin an abab patterning for each stanza.
Two highly commended works were selected by the judges. 'The Memory of Colour' works closely with the painting Angophora, Salamander Bay 2001 by celebrated artist, David Rose, reflecting the setting and in positioning the writer's voice. The poem is composed in trimeters, reads well aloud, has strong imagery and has a well-considered conceit. Also in this category is 'Sixteen Minutes Past Eight', a recollection of falling out of love (or a murder mystery!), and quite witty at that, with some felicitous phrases.
Three works were commended by the judges. 'You're so hot I could kill you' is a confronting yet witty treatise on blood-thirst. 'Generations of Rirual' is a moving depiction in quatrains of the realities of Australian farming life and a widowed farmer's loneliness. 'Greengrace', also in quatrains, is an interesting attempt at deifying grasshoppers.
Congatulations to all of the place-getters!
Thank-you to all the entrants, once again, for contributing to the prize, and to Declan Foley in his wish to foster excellecne in the legacy oif Yeats.
'Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.'
('Aedh Wishes for the Clorths of Heaven', in The Wind Among the Reeds, 1889).
Lyn Chatham
