The judge has chosen the following poems for further consideration. From these poems, the prizewinners and the various “Commended” awards will be selected. In random order, they are:
The View From Here by Dana Kroos
Fitting Rooms by Janeen Brian
Dust Storm by John Irvine
Glass Half Empty by Richard Scarsbrook
Invitation by Richard Scarsbrook
Jeremy Johnson Jackson the Third by Adam Wallace
Bike Riding by Adam Wallace
Look at you by Rochelle Manners
Ode to Politicians by Evelyn Wright
After Dark by Daphne Hargreaves
Injustice by Tim Croft
Train Journey by Ann Tregenza
Mackay by Nana Ollerenshaw
End of Season by Jacqueline Cooke
A Loadshedding Thought by Jocelyn Ortt-Sneed
Time by Beatrice Yell
Lenni and I by Aaron Goldsmith
Ancestor Worship by Roger Vickery
Colac by Allistair R. Clarke
Release by Jayne Fenton Keane
Message from the Mouth of a Fossil by Jayne Fenton Keane
Small Armageddon by Franci Cantatore
following by David O’Connell
Fritillary by Jennie Herrera
A Soaking in the Southwest by Michael P. Mardel
From the Art Gallery Restaurant by Frankie Seymour
Two Rooms by Frankie Seymour
Dawn at the Cross by Jonathan Elsom
A First Kiss by Pamela Blackburn
Hindsight 20/20 by Kristen R. Heyl
when his father died by Fiona Sievers
In the Garden by Gavin S. Austin
No More Wars by Pali Munasinghe
Something in Common by Agnes Craig
Bugged by Alison McRae
Long Night by Alison McRae
Nursing Home by Alison McRae [Alison entered six poems. Another, “Senior Citizen”, almost made it to the semi-final list too]
A Mesmerizing World by Sook-Moy Yew
Excuse Me Mr. President by Leanne Nicholls
If I Spend My Whole Life Waiting For You by Dee Dee Lee Chin Clay
Over the Road, Down by the Creek by Jean MacDonald
White Moths by Su Nash
Nothing: A Big, Fat Nothing by Su Nash
Night Shift by Suzanne Edgar
The Ring-Maker by Suzanne Edgar
Forever Young by Yvonne Schneider
Corn Field by Janie Hofmann
Wisden’s Child by David Dunstan
That’s a short list of 48 poems from a total of 536 entries. Most of the poets listed above sent in multiple entries. This gave them an excellent chance of producing at least one poem that made the short list. Alison McRae is the only poet to have three entries listed (it was almost four).
Don’t be disheartened if your name’s not listed. I had to get the list down to manageable proportions. It broke my heart too when I was forced to put aside at least thirty or forty additional poems that almost, almost made the grade.
I’m now going to give myself a short rest from Poetry, but my aim is to announce the winners by mid-December. Yes, I know I said mid-November in all the advertising, but I expected to receive only around 300 poems. Thank you all for making this inaugural Tom Howard Poetry Contest such a resounding success!
