2007 Poetry Competition Winner and Commended Entrants
The winner of the 2007 competition is Dorothy Yamamoto
Dorothy, who lives in Oxford, works for the Oxford University Press. Her poem Heatwave appeared in our 2006 anthology Night Balancing. Read more about Dorothy Yamamoto.
The commended poets were:
D J Andrew, Leeds
Roger Elkin, Biddulph Moor
Alan Franks, Richmond, Surrey
Gabriel Griffin, Isola San Giulio, Italy
David Hart, Birmingham
J C Sinson, Whitby, North Yorkshire
Ruth Terrington, Middlesex
Christopher Whitby, Leics
Poems chosen for the anthology are written by:
Tim Adams Lis Lee
Bruce Barnes Penny Lloyd
Martin Beaver Robin Maunsell
Liz Cashdan Celia McCulloch
Tina Cole Eric Morgan
Derek Collins Lesley Mountain
Pamela Coren Christine McNeill
Tricia Corob Denise McSheehy
Katherine Crocker Pauline Plummer
Judith Dimond Andrea Porter
Charles Evans M A Rosario
Penny Feinstein Sue Rylance
Margaret Eddershaw Margaret Stallman
Sue Forrester Susan Stern
Caroline Gilfillan Elizabeth Tate
Helena Goddard Maggie Tate
Anne Grimes Harriet Torr
Louise Hislop David Underdown
Gordon Hodgeon Gerald Vinestock
Mike Horwood Fiona Ritchie Walker
Marianne Hellwig John Janet Wiltshire
Joan Johnston Lyn White
Pauline Keith Patricia Wooldridge
Pru Kitching
They were selected from over 3000 poems entered.
The competition was judged by the acclaimed poet Don Paterson. Dundee-born Paterson has published several collections of poetry. Landing Light was awarded the 2003 Whitbread Poetry Award and the TS Elliot Prize, which he is the first poet to have won twice. He has won many other literary awards including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award, a Forward Prize and three Scottish Arts Council Book Awards. He received a Creative Scotland Award in 2002. He has published a book of aphorisms The Book of Shadows, and edited 101 Sonnets, a selected Robert Burns and Last Words (with Jo Shapcott - last year's Blinking Eye competition judge). Don's most recent publication is Orpheus, his version of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus.
In his judge's report, Don Paterson comments:
This was an unusually difficult competition to judge. Usually, when faced with a huge pile of single-poem entries, one can boldly set aside most of them after a few lines – mainly because they declare themselves to have been ‘inspired’ in one way or another, which is often a sign that they haven’t really been made. I suspect competitions like the Blinking Eye attract only The Serious, however. It’s a far more difficult matter to prove yourself over distance. Lots of folk can get lucky and write the odd good line, and come up with the odd inspired felicity; it’s repeating the trick that’s the problem. To do this you simply need talent - and a fair idea what you’re messing with. I found the standard unusually high, and almost all the entries demanded to be read and re-read. There was very little to choose between the winner and the commended poets; in the end, I would say just a few lines of Dorothy Yamamoto’s lifted her above the pack. But these lines will stay with me, which is all I ask of a poem.
I wish I had more space to talk about the commended poets, but I’ll mention each one briefly: Christopher Whitby’s work I found inventive, well-made and witty; David Hart’s poems are notable for their wonderful feel for vowel and the abstract phrase; Roger Elkin’s poems burst with sharply observed and well-chosen detail, and are simply very interesting; J.C. Sinson’s verse is lively and vivid, and times its effects admirably; Ruth Terrington’s work kept my interest through the careful interrogation of its subject matter; Gabriel Griffin writes with great rhetorical flair, and his poems have delightful song-like echoes; D.J. Andrew has a great feel for the clean line, and for plain English; and Alan Franks is to be treasured for his effortless range, wit and formal invention.
I decided in the end that I liked Dorothy Yamamoto’s submission best. Each of her poems had a strong imaginative or dramatic proposition, the outcome of which couldn’t be foreseen. This kept me reading on in anticipation, and I wasn’t disappointed: she has a lovely feel for closure and cadence. Her poems also have real shape and movement - and an admirable leanness that suggests the poet understands that it’s all about what you leave out, as much as what you put in. ‘Blood Line’ in particular, I think, shows off her beautifully-attuned ear, and has the sure touch of a confident and original phrasemaker.
Page last updated: 14.10.2007
