Winner: No. 34 Skull Springs by Gloria Foreman
Runner-up: No. 41 English Class by Madeleine Tingey
Highly Commended: No. 48 Looking Back by Sally Richardson
Highly Commended No. 51 Freak Hail Storm by Jennifer Langley-Kemp
Highly Commended No. 49 Brave Molly by Helen Iles
Highly Commended No. 58 In the Stillness by Marlene Fulcher
The winning entry, No 34. ‘Skull Springs' by Gloria Foreman reveals an artist's appreciation of colour. I particularly liked:
A sky pale with heat is bleached the blue of a stockman's jeans.
and the reference to colourless pools of spring water, mirror like, gaining colour by their reflection of the sky and the surrounding rocks and trees.
As a watercolour and pastel artist myself I found this imagery very compelling.
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The runner up, No 41. 'English Class' by Madeleine Tingey appealed to me, a migrant from another hemisphere, and emphasised how convenient it was for me and my family to settle in this new environment 'down-under', because the language spoken here in Australia was English.
I've often thought since, particularly when studying for a TAFE certificate in Italian, how difficult the English language must be to learn and how confusing its pronunciation must be for migrants from non-English speaking countries, when they come across our words ending with or containing the letters 'ough'.
This poem highlights the problems both lingually and culturally faced by non-English speaking migrants to our country.
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The four contestants awarded Highly Commended Certificates are not listed in any particular order of merit
The first Highly Commended Certificate is awarded to:
No 48. Looking Back by Sally Richardson which appealed to me as it echoed so many of the thoughts which, these days, run through the mind of the judge of this competition. A baby-boomer from WWI, at school in the 20s and 30s, at war in the 30s and 40s, at Uni in the late 40s and first jobbing and family raising thereafter until migrating 'down-under' 50 years ago.
But what memories on which to build poems and short stories! What tales to tell great grandchildren!
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The second Highly Commended Certificate is awarded to:
No 51. 'Freak Hail Storm' by Jennifer Langley-Kemp which evokes for me memories of the winter games I played so long ago, as a child, in that land 'up-over' from which I hail.
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The third Highly Commended Certificate is awarded to:
No 49. 'Brave Molly' by Helen Iles is a tribute to the 10th Light Horse Regiment in action during WWI and highlights not only the love the horsemen had for their horses, but the response to that love which at least one horse had for its rider.
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Finally, the fourth Highly Commended Certificate is awarded to:
No 58. 'In the Stillness' by Marlene Fulcher which evoked memories of researches done to clarify my father's involvement in WWI as a young 21 year old and to remember Binyon's much recited words:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
we will remember them.
Each poem reveals much about its author. Its place on the list of winners reveals a great deal about the judge!
With best wishes
Michael Williams
President Peter Cowan Writers' Centre
