FOLIO ADJUDICATION 2003 by Jackie Wills

 

The poems which have been selected as winners of this competition emerged very early on in my reading of the entries. The winner stood out straight away, as did those which were commended. What has been interesting is realising how many poems which competed for inclusion in the anthology and for these other positions came from the same writers. It was hard to select, in some cases, which poem from a good group should appear.

 

I hope I've been fair. Any selection is subjective. My own tastes are generally for simplicity of image and thought, not too much clutter. I can't over emphasise the importance of the emotional drive in a poem. Too much contemporary poetry has no emotional life, it's tricksy, clever, displays its verbosity and reads more like a crossword puzzle.

 

So the poems I've selected had an impact on me, emotionally, too. They were poems which came back to me as I did the washing up and went to pick up my kids from school. And of course, as I went through the list to write comments, they were the poems I remembered from earlier readings.

 

I was impressed, overall, by the poems submitted. There was evidence that people read contemporary poetry, that the writers are in touch with what else is going on. I'd warn against too many poems written in response to paintings or views. I think poems work better if they demand to be written or if they're sat on for a while!

 

There is a range of styles in the anthology - lyrical, cynical, humorous, contemplative. There are monologues in historical voices, there are domestic scenes, there is death, illness, the noise of children and a festival, a rogue tractor driver and a talking stag.

 

I like diversity in poetry. I think we should embrace a range of styles. In this competition, the clear voices which take risks with ideas are the ones which spoke to me.

 

Jackie Wills