Poetry Prize 2023: RESULTS
Winners:
Here are the 10 winners, as chosen by judge Billy Collins, to be published in the FISH ANTHOLOGY 2023.
The Anthology will be launched as part of the West Cork Literary Festival, (The Maritime Hotel, Bantry, West Cork – Tuesday 11th July – 18.00.) All are welcome!
Second prize winner, Mary O´Donnell, is awarded a weeks in residence at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat.
Billy Collins
Comments on the winning three poems are from Billy Collins (below), who we sincerely thank for lending his time and experience to judge the prize.
Congratulations to these ten poets, and also to those whose poems made the short and long-lists. Total entry was 2,348.
More about the 10 winning poets (link).
The Ten Winners:
FIRST
THE SCENE WITHOUT by Winifred Hughes
This poem is subtle elegy which uses the familiar scene of a rural backyard to evoke the absence of a loved one. The flora and flora are intimately rendered for nothing has changed, except a terrible sense of absence, creating a palpable split on what’s on either side of the window. An accomplishment in understatement. – Billy Collins
SECOND
VECTORS IN KABUL by Mary O´Donnell
Here, the difficult subject of the forces denying girls an education in Afghanistan is approached at an angle by which the poet ingeniously mixes the language of science with the plight of the young students to form a kind of mathematics of intolerance. The poem is timely as well as formally commendable. – Billy Collins
THIRD
EXTINCTION by Luisa A. Igloria
A poem with a facility of movement, swinging from the Judas goat to Darwin, a dying dog, and ending with our own dead, how they linger and return. What a pleasure to watch his poet’s mind at work, guiding us this way and that, then landing on our own experience with mortality. A poem with many interests, including the reader. – Billy Collins
HONORARY MENTIONS (in no particular order):
Rosetta Pebble
by Tania Dain
Aground
by Sharon Black
Emozioni
by Steph Ellen Feeney
I Explain Time Travel to my Son
by Peter Borchers
Park Protocol
by Scott Renzoni
No Items Match Your Search
by Catherine Spooner
Toccata for Spoons
by Daniel Lusk
A LITTLE ABOUT THE WINNERS
Winifred Hughes is a reformed academic and active birder living in Princeton, NJ. The author of two chapbooks, as well as poems in scattered journals, she currently serves on the boards of two local environmental organizations and teaches courses in nature writing and ecopoetry. When she is not actually writing poems, she can be found leading bird walks and poking around in the local wetlands, or hanging out with her two grown sons.
Mary O’Donnell has published seventeen books since 1990. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Naas, Co Kildare, during 2022. Her eighth poetry collection is ‘Massacre of the Birds’ (Salmon). An essay, ‘My Mother in Drumlin Country’, was listed in Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2017 in Best American Essays (Mariner). People say she is a kick-ass creative writing teacher. She intends to write until the energy runs out, which it hasn’t—so far. Member of Aosdána. www.maryodonnell.com
Luisa A. Igloria enjoys drawing, hand-binding little books, experimenting with collage, trying out new recipes, and ripping out and re-starting knitting projects when she’s not writing or teaching. She adores figs, dumplings, and tango music. Originally from Baguio City, she makes her home in Norfolk VA and teaches English and Creative Writing in Old Dominion University’s MFA Creative Writing Program. Luisa is the 20th Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia (2020-22), Emerita. www.luisaigloria.com
Tania Dain has spent her life filling notebooks with poems, stories, novels and plays. She studied Creative Writing at Manchester University and CitiLit, and is a member of the ZB writing group and the McGechie Duo. A secondary school teacher, her daily commute takes in – wonderfully – the fine oaks and wandering deer of Richmond Park. She is currently putting together her first collection of poetry, obligatory in a family of scribblers.
Sharon Black is from Glasgow and lives in a remote valley of the Cévennes mountains in France. Her prizes including The London Magazine Poetry Prizes 2019 and 2018. She has published 4 full collections of poetry and a pamphlet. Her latest collections are The Last Woman Born on the Island (Vagabond Voices, 2022), exploring Scotland’s culture and heritage, and The Red House(Drunk Muse, 2022), set in her adopted homeland. She is editor of Pindrop Press. www.sharonblack.co.uk
Steph Ellen Feeney was born in Louisiana, and raised in Texas. She grew up in a family of fishermen, musicians and drinkers, and still dabbles in all three. She is a Board Director of Art for Human Rights. Her poems have appeared in The Poetry Review and Ink Sweat & Tears. These days, she calls Suffolk home.
Peter Borchers is a retired science teacher who has lived in South Africa, Malawi and Tasmania as well as the UK. He started writing poetry in later life once all the frenzy had died down.
Scott Renzoni is a poet & actor originally from Vermont, now based in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Ekphrastic Review, KGB Bar Online Literary Review, Connecticut Poetry Review, the Library of Congress’ “Poetry 180” site, and others. Stage work has included everything from Shakespeare to farce and even a musical or two. A 4-time “Jeopardy!” champion, Renzo also works as a bartender and bookseller.
Catherine Spooner recently returned to creative writing after a gap of many years. In 2021-2, she took a career break to complete an MLitt in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow and in 2022, was the recipient of the Northern Writers’ Arvon Award from New Writing North. In her other life, she is an academic who writes about Gothic literature, culture and fashion. She is often found wearing black.
Daniel Lusk is the winner of a Pushcart Prize for his genre-bending essay, “Bom.” He is the author of eight poetry collections and other books, most recently Every Slow Thing, Farthings (eBook Yavanika Press, Bangalore), and The Shower Scene from Hamlet. Native of the prairie Midwest, and onetime preacher, sports writer, jazz singer, cowboy, teacher and NPR commentator, Daniel lives in Vermont (USA). He is married to Irish poet Angela (Goggins) Patten.
SHORT-LIST in alphabetical order. (68 poems. Total entry was 2,348)
|
Ode to an Irish Minstrel |
Mary Anne Eliza |
Anderson |
|
My father’s watch |
Jennifer |
Barber |
|
Love You! |
Angela |
Beese |
|
Aground |
Sharon |
Black |
|
Asylum |
Andy |
Blackford |
|
Sting of History |
Rosalin |
Blue |
|
I explain time travel to my son |
Peter |
Borchers |
|
Matryoshka |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
The Turn |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
Fences |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
My dad orders four drinks at a restaurant |
Jeanette |
Burton |
|
Magic Tricks |
Finola |
Cahill |
|
Abode |
Joseph |
Chamberlain |
|
Shadowlands |
Robert |
Charlton |
|
GRAFFITI |
Alexandra |
Corrin-Tachibana |
|
Beast |
Elena |
Croitoru |
|
Rosetta Pebble |
Tania |
Dain |
|
Game. Set. Matched. |
Deirdre |
Devally |
|
The Harp and Loom are String Sisters |
Jane |
Edmonds |
|
Aubade |
Birgit |
Elston |
|
Blocked Drains |
Kate |
Ennals |
|
Latin Teacher |
Frank |
Farrelly |
|
Emozioni |
Stephanie |
Feeney |
|
Fishing Cooperative |
Stephanie |
Feeney |
|
Spring’s sighting of a gator sunning itself |
Amy |
Fladeboe |
|
On Reflection |
Tom |
Flaherty |
|
Infinity curve, with cheesesteak |
Stacey |
Forbes |
|
Fish Heaven |
Sally |
Fox |
|
SORROW |
Geoffrey |
Gates |
|
Bully |
Alison |
Gorman |
|
The Urn |
Alison |
Gorman |
|
The Nameless Gringos Get Drunk in Santiago |
Jonathan |
Greenhause |
|
I Would Do Anything for Love |
Anthony |
Hanbury-Williams |
|
TO BREAK ALIVE |
Pauline |
Holdstock |
|
How the Goddess Artemus Gave Up War |
Pamela |
Hughes |
|
The Scene Without |
Winifred |
Hughes |
|
Extinction |
Luisa A. |
Igloria |
|
While listening to NRK Klassik |
Fin |
Keegan |
|
VOICE |
Debbie |
Knight |
|
Oh No, Not the Beef Stroganoff! |
Debbie |
Knight |
|
Paragard |
Madeline |
Lawler |
|
anticipation of anaphylaxis |
Róisín |
Leggett-Bohan |
|
After Making Love With The Feral Coyote |
James |
Lowell |
|
Toccata for Spoons |
Daniel |
Lusk |
|
The things you left behind |
Jonathan |
Marks |
|
Cul-de-sac |
Steve |
Miell |
|
1. laissez les bon temps rouler |
Karla K |
Morton |
|
cake |
Mary |
Mulholland |
|
VECTORS IN KABUL |
Mary |
O’Donnell |
|
The scene on repeat in my mind for the past ten years |
Lauren |
O’Donovan |
|
Ageing Poet in a Shop |
Mary |
O´Gorman |
|
Sweet Boy |
Jane |
Otto |
|
Why the Child Is Immortal |
Christina |
Park |
|
Rogue males |
Tim |
Relf |
|
Park Protocol |
Scott |
Renzoni |
|
Summer Triumvirate |
Susan |
Richardson |
|
Dementia is preferable |
Sharon |
Rockman |
|
Was It a Dream? |
Allen |
Shadow |
|
Prayer |
Patricia |
Sheppard |
|
Family Matters |
Fionnula |
Simpson |
|
Elizabeth Fortescue provides her numbers for the |
Di |
Slaney |
|
Welcome to the Discharge Lounge |
Di |
Slaney |
|
No Items Match Your Search |
Catherine |
Spooner |
|
They Tell Me |
Shamini |
Sriskandarajah |
|
Deep Listening to Daffodils |
Jane |
Thomas |
|
Dog Talk |
Tom |
Vandel |
|
Where The Need For Love Takes You |
Rob |
Wallis |
|
In The Summer |
Rob |
Wallis |
|
We Appreciate Your Work |
Susan |
Wolbarst |
|
FORSYTHIAS BLOSSOMING |
Ellen |
Zhang |
LONG-LIST in alphabetical order. (247 poems. Total entry was 2,348)
|
Slipface |
Serena |
Alagappan |
|
Let’s Catch Up Soon |
Serena |
Alagappan |
|
Shadowy drunk/poets dancing |
John |
Alter |
|
Searching for William Butler Yeats |
Mary Anne Eliza |
Anderson |
|
Ode to an Irish Minstrel |
Mary Anne Eliza |
Anderson |
|
19/02/23 |
Helen |
Arthur |
|
Panama shuffle |
Helen |
Arthur |
|
During the Third Week of the War |
Jennifer |
Barber |
|
Onset |
Jennifer |
Barber |
|
My father’s watch |
Jennifer |
Barber |
|
What to expect… |
Eleanor |
Barlow |
|
A Few Questions on a River Death |
Gill |
Barr |
|
Leaving the Mental Ward |
Angela |
Beese |
|
Love You! |
Angela |
Beese |
|
Girl at a Funeral |
Solano |
Bianchi |
|
Behind the shed |
Sarah |
Bird |
|
Aground |
Sharon |
Black |
|
Asylum |
Andy |
Blackford |
|
Cafe, Heartlands |
Adrian |
Blackledge |
|
Glass Delusion |
Rosalin |
Blue |
|
Sting of History |
Rosalin |
Blue |
|
Amelia |
Faye |
Boland |
|
My Dead Boyfriends |
Elizabeth |
Boquet |
|
Heirloom |
Peter |
Borchers |
|
Sunday morning |
Peter |
Borchers |
|
I explain time travel to my son |
Peter |
Borchers |
|
Aubade of a Blended Eschatology |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
Ensō Carousel |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
The Poet’s Way |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
The Superpower |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
The Return |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
The Escape Artist |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
Matryoshka |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
The Turn |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
Fences |
Partridge |
Boswell |
|
Quadri and Florian |
Richard |
Brait |
|
FILMS WITH INTERESTING BUT UKNOWN ACTORS |
Lawrence |
BRIDGES |
|
Longing |
Lawrence |
BRIDGES |
|
ONE OF THOSE LINOLEUM DAYS |
Lawrence |
BRIDGES |
|
Boomerang |
Cory |
Brown |
|
My dad orders four drinks at a restaurant on the |
Jeanette |
Burton |
|
Most of all, I remember his hands |
Liz |
Byrne |
|
Magic Tricks |
Finola |
Cahill |
|
Midnight at the Second-hand Record Store |
Jonathan |
Cant |
|
Winter : Water |
Charlotte |
Carnegie |
|
Bush lessons |
Anne M |
Carson |
|
Nellie |
Jean |
Cassidy |
|
Dividing Line |
deborah |
catesby |
|
Abode |
Joseph |
Chamberlain |
|
Shadowlands |
Robert |
Charlton |
|
At the Feet of Michelangelo’s David |
Suzanne |
Cleary |
|
I Thought You Were It |
Hetty |
Cliss |
|
Éclairs |
brid |
connolly |
|
Faith |
Martin |
Cordrey |
|
GRAFFITI |
Alexandra |
Corrin-Tachibana |
|
Rooster |
Patrick |
Cotter |
|
Small-town Rumours |
Patrick |
Cotter |
|
Beast |
Elena |
Croitoru |
|
Rosetta Pebble |
Tania |
Dain |
|
Proofs |
Arno |
Daniel |
|
The Town |
Robert |
Daseler |
|
Veronica Lake |
Robert |
Daseler |
|
Notes on Hospitality |
Christina |
Daub |
|
SONNET XVII |
Gary |
Davis |
|
Game. Set. Matched. |
Deirdre |
Devally |
|
Praise Alaska |
Patrick |
Dixon |
|
Swearing In Swearing Out |
Gabriel |
Donleavy |
|
Alone, now |
Debra |
Doonan |
|
O’Keano’s |
Anthony |
Doyle |
|
Waiting at the shopping centre coffee shop |
Steven |
Duggan |
|
I Never Wanted To come To Your City |
Hartley |
Dupont |
|
The Harp and Loom are String Sisters |
Jane |
Edmonds |
|
Selkie |
Jennifer |
Elmore |
|
Aubade |
Birgit |
Elston |
|
Blocked Drains |
kate |
Ennals |
|
Latin Teacher |
Frank |
Farrelly |
|
Emozioni |
Stephanie |
Feeney |
|
Fishing Cooperative |
Stephanie |
Feeney |
|
appetite |
Deborah |
Finding |
|
Spring’s sighting of a gator sunning itself |
Amy |
Fladeboe |
|
On Reflection |
Tom |
Flaherty |
|
For The Rose Man |
Jean |
Flanagan |
|
The Breast Plate |
Pauline |
Flynn |
|
Infinity curve, with cheesesteak |
Stacey |
Forbes |
|
Fish Heaven |
Sally |
Fox |
|
A Lesbian is a Cathedral |
Caitlin |
Francis |
|
Pentimento |
Mag |
Gabbert |
|
Bird Perched on Top of Cage |
Sheri |
Gaitings |
|
Cardinals |
Kate |
Gale |
|
The Swimmers : 24th November |
Joan |
García Viltró |
|
SORROW |
Geoffrey |
Gates |
|
The Curse of the Moon |
Norman |
Goodwin |
|
Bully |
Alison |
Gorman |
|
The Urn |
Alison |
Gorman |
|
The Schooner |
Ian |
Gouge |
|
BAND OF BROTHERS |
Tim |
Goulding |
|
CLUSTER BOMB |
Tim |
Goulding |
|
Venice |
Sara |
Greaves |
|
Unfinished Hypotheses |
Jonathan |
Greenhause |
|
The Nameless Gringos Get Drunk in Santiago |
Jonathan |
Greenhause |
|
On longshore drift |
Dominic |
Gregory |
|
Offering to the Blood Bank |
Joseph |
Grikis |
|
Something like an Outlaw |
Dan |
Grote |
|
I Would Do Anything for Love |
Anthony |
Hanbury-Williams |
|
Sundays |
Maggie |
Harris |
|
A pot of stew in the South of France, |
Lyd |
Havens |
|
Saying goodbye to my future boyfriend while he’s still |
Rachael |
Hill |
|
The Unreeving |
Matt |
Hohner |
|
Man Jumps on Hood of Car, Smashes |
Matt |
Hohner |
|
Sowing Begins in Eleven Regions of Ukraine |
Matt |
Hohner |
|
TO BREAK ALIVE |
Pauline |
Holdstock |
|
Convenient Acquaintance |
Lana |
Holman |
|
Sing Whilst You Drown |
David |
Hughes |
|
While Holding a Bouquet of Salvia |
Pamela |
Hughes |
|
Mother As Metaverse |
Pamela |
Hughes |
|
How the Goddess Artemus Gave Up War |
Pamela |
Hughes |
|
The Scene Without |
Winifred |
Hughes |
|
Extinction |
Luisa A. |
Igloria |
|
Inconceivable |
Casey |
Jarrin |
|
holy days |
Dillon |
Jaxx |
|
Eyes Closed |
Victoria |
Kaplan |
|
While listening to NRK Klassik |
Fin |
Keegan |
|
At the River |
James |
Kelly |
|
Some Times a Tornado |
James |
Kelly |
|
A Large and Unexpected Statue of Anubis |
Liz |
Kendall |
|
Why Otters are like Flashman |
Liz |
Kendall |
|
To Be A Pilgrim |
Liz |
Kendall |
|
The Instant of Death’s Triviality |
Mohammad |
Kheibari |
|
How to Become a Poet |
Jay |
Kidd |
|
VOICE |
Debbie |
Knight |
|
Oh No, Not the Beef Stroganoff! |
Debbie |
Knight |
|
Rumors of Love |
Seth |
Kronick |
|
Farewell to a Lover |
Francesca |
La Nave |
|
Photo Near the Beginning |
Vanessa |
Lampert |
|
Old Days, These Days |
Susan |
Landgraf |
|
Paragard |
Madeline |
Lawler |
|
the lights are dimmed |
Alfie |
Lee |
|
of |
Alfie |
Lee |
|
Lifeguard |
Róisín |
Leggett-Bohan |
|
anticipation of anaphylaxis |
Róisín |
Leggett-Bohan |
|
A Note of Distinction |
Lou |
Lesovitch |
|
Temple Rubbing |
James |
Lowell |
|
Your Coaster |
James |
Lowell |
|
After Making Love With The Feral Coyote |
James |
Lowell |
|
Hidden |
Joanna |
Lowry |
|
Toccata for Spoons |
Daniel |
Lusk |
|
Morning Tea |
Michael |
Lyle |
|
THE DEAD REGARD THEIR FIRST |
Niamh |
MacCabe |
|
The things you left behind |
Jonathan |
Marks |
|
Aflutter |
Bibi |
Marti |
|
Migraine Bulletins |
Kitty |
Martin |
|
Eternal Return |
Seán |
Martin |
|
Bird song |
Gary |
Mason |
|
unrequited ode to an anon |
Athena |
Mayahi-Barrett |
|
Mass of the innocents |
John |
McCabe |
|
The Usual |
Olivia |
McCarthy |
|
One Hundred And Eleven Trees |
Alison |
McGuire |
|
SUBJECT AND VERB. OBJECT |
Sighle |
Meehan |
|
Heirlooms |
Rekha |
Mehra |
|
Cul-de-sac |
Steve |
Miell |
|
Dwarf Leatherwood |
Claire |
Miranda Roberts |
|
Mothers of Mariupol |
Matt |
Mooney |
|
In the horse stall, |
Karla K |
Morton |
|
With Gratitude |
Karla K |
Morton |
|
Something to Sing To |
Karla K |
Morton |
|
1. laissez les bon temps rouler |
Karla K |
Morton |
|
Rift |
Mary |
Mulholland |
|
cake |
Mary |
Mulholland |
|
Midnight on the Roman Line |
Ruth |
Nancekivell |
|
DAMP DAY |
Madelaine |
Nerson Mac Namara |
|
Piercing the Psalter |
Helen |
Newdick |
|
(Three Poems for Fish) |
Gloria |
Nixon-John |
|
Where the Children Grow |
William |
Norris |
|
On the London Underground |
Catherine |
O’Brien |
|
VECTORS IN KABUL |
Mary |
O’Donnell |
|
The scene on repeat in my mind |
Lauren |
O’Donovan |
|
Le Coeur Gastronomique |
Jamie |
O’Halloran |
|
Ode To Your Lips |
Molly |
O’Mahony |
|
Saudade |
Karen |
O’Maxfield |
|
Ageing Poet in a Shop |
Mary |
O´Gorman |
|
Sweet Boy |
Jane |
Otto |
|
Why the Child Is Immortal |
Christina |
Park |
|
This is the Day |
Lesley |
Quayle |
|
Shark |
Marion |
Quednau |
|
On Forgiveness |
Noah |
Rabinovitch |
|
yet spring |
Sally |
Rauch |
|
Rogue males |
Tim |
Relf |
|
Park Protocol |
Scott |
Renzoni |
|
Summer Triumvirate |
Susan |
Richardson |
|
Between |
Sharon |
Rockman |
|
Dementia is preferable |
Sharon |
Rockman |
|
A Woman and the Bardo |
Lindsay |
Rockwell |
|
CAR BOOT SALE |
Joe |
Rogers |
|
The Assassination of Piers Gaveston 1312 |
Neil |
Rollinson |
|
Who Killed the Carolina Parakeet? |
Dilys |
Rose |
|
Confession |
Christina |
Ruotolo |
|
The Neon Tower |
Paul |
Saville |
|
Istanbul |
James |
Scoles |
|
Dream and Dream and Dream |
Allen |
Shadow |
|
The Bottom of the Roadrunner Cliffs |
Allen |
Shadow |
|
Was It a Dream? |
Allen |
Shadow |
|
I am a cow |
James |
Shapiro |
|
Ugly Crackle |
Shelley |
Shaver |
|
An Angel, an Argument, Other Arguments |
PATRICIA |
SHEPPARD |
|
Intake at the Juvenile Detention Center |
PATRICIA |
SHEPPARD |
|
Prayer |
PATRICIA |
SHEPPARD |
|
Beethoven’s Spoons |
Sorcha |
Sills |
|
Family Matters |
Fionnula |
Simpson |
|
Elizabeth Fortescue provides her numbers |
Di |
Slaney |
|
Welcome to the Discharge Lounge |
Di |
Slaney |
|
The Toolbox |
Kevin |
Smith |
|
Ham Sandwich |
Gwendolyn |
Soper |
|
No Items Match Your Search |
Catherine |
Spooner |
|
Wheels Fall Off |
Shamini |
Sriskandarajah |
|
They Tell Me |
Shamini |
Sriskandarajah |
|
Gertie Welcomes You to Woolworths & Woolco |
Sherri |
Stepakoff |
|
Ghost Box |
Steve |
Stevenson |
|
After Cancer |
Christopher |
Stewart |
|
Spring Tide |
Hannah |
Stone |
|
i still google “high functioning” to prove |
Sullivan |
Summer |
|
AGM |
Michael |
Swan |
|
Deep Listening to Daffodils |
Jane |
Thomas |
|
I looked out the window |
Liz |
Tivoli |
|
what would do for you? |
Richard |
Toth |
|
Self Portrait as Venice |
Heather |
Treseler |
|
Walkthrough |
Allen |
Tullos |
|
Blacktip Shark |
Barbara |
Tyler |
|
The Satisfying Scent of a Hard Day’s Work |
Barbara |
Tyler |
|
Dog Talk |
Tom |
Vandel |
|
Just So You Know |
Wendy |
Videlock |
|
ON WINGS OF SONG |
Maggie |
Wadey |
|
My new notebook |
Lucy |
Wadham |
|
No farewell |
Brian |
Wall |
|
Rough Or Very Rough |
Julia |
Wallis |
|
Where The Need For Love Takes You |
Rob |
Wallis |
|
In The Summer |
Rob |
Wallis |
|
Licked |
Derval |
Walsh |
|
In the Munch Museum |
John |
Williams |
|
Michi |
John |
Williams |
|
Interfere |
Mark Anthony |
Williams |
|
Paris in the Tweens |
Kathleen |
Winter |
|
We Appreciate Your Work |
Susan |
Wolbarst |
|
Cherry Pits |
Ellen |
Zhang |
|
Remission |
Ellen |
Zhang |
|
FORSYTHIAS BLOSSOMING |
Ellen |
Zhang |
