From Poetry and Poetics Centre

The Poetry and Poetics Centre is pleased to announce the results of the Max Harris Poetry Award 2008. The two judges of this year’s award were Kate Llewellyn and Mike Ladd. Their judges' report and the winning, highly commended and commended poems are outlined below.

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Judges' report

Of the 300 entries we independently short-listed a dozen poems which we felt showed vitality, originality and attention to poetic craft. We preferred poems that avoided cliché, made us feel something, and used language in an intense and characteristic way. When we compared our shortlists we discovered a strong degree of correlation; in fact we had eight titles in common. Both the judges had independently chosen the winning poem 'The Drunken Elk' as our first preference. We decided to highly commend another three poems and commend a further seven. These all had their own strengths and were equally worthy of mention.

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Awarded poems

Winner:

'The Drunken Elk', Shane McCauley

'This poem is a profound psychological portrait of a sixteenth century astronomer. It won in part, because it is a gripping story – a biography that never wastes a word. Hidden inside the poem is a description of what poetry aims to do. Almost word for word it can be read as a portrait of any great poet ancient or modern. It becomes the thing it describes.

"Poets are like aerialists: the wire they walk stretches from history to eternity, fact to dream, language to silence. When they get across we feel rapture........."

Margo Jefferson, The New York Times, 11th May 2003.

From the first line to the last, the poem never falters; it is indeed a high-wire act of moral fortitude and distinction.'

Highly Commended:

'Boy and Man', LK Holt

'A highly literary work, based on the life of Chekhov. This poem succeeds in capturing the mood of the times, Chekhov’s abusive father, Anton’s early relationships with his brothers, and his mistress Natalia.'

'Cranky Fan', Pete Hay

'This is a poem of intense natural observation, using original imagery and language. Its cadence embodies its subject : the jaunty dance of fantail birds, observed by a grieving person.'

'Putting on your Boots', Anne Elvey

'A moving poem in plain but effective language. It deals with a sensitive subject – the death of a disabled child – without romanticising or sentimentalising.'

Commended:

'Amaveram', Sue Pearson

'Elegy from a Young Wife', Debbie Lim

'I am not Woman, I am not Child', Christine Fontana

'Saturdays Home from Boarding School', Mark Miller

'Stitching Things Together, 2007', Leah Kaminsky

'The Archaeologist', Andrew Slattery

'The Wrong Grave', John Pfitzner

Kate Llewellyn and Mike Ladd

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Click here to read the awarded poems.