Top 3 Audio Poetry Entries
The following comments in quotation marks are all from our judge, TS Eliot Winner, Anthony Joseph.
‘It was a real honour to judge the Plaza Audio Poetry Prize. One of the familiar tropes within contemporary poetry is the distinction, even argument, between the spoken performance and the written word. This line is increasingly, and thankfully becoming tenuous, as the poems here show, as they achieve a balance between sound and the page, as Kamau Braithwaite suggested poems should do, making ‘word sculpture in the ear’, returning poetry to its origins in the oral tradition while showing an intelligent engagement with form and the possibilities of language.’
3rd: The Leather Year by Ashlee Paris-Jabang (ENG)
‘A powerful, new consideration of the Windrush narrative which considers the difficulty of finding roots in exile. Its delivery moves between the delicate and the sonorous. Each word earns its place.’
2nd: The Scallcrows by John D.Kelly (N. IRE)
‘There’s some complex and considered use of sound here, a lyrical quality to the line, and a nuanced use of a Irish carrion crow metaphor which makes the poem both personal and universal. A poem which really rewards repeated listening.’
1st: The Men at My Fence by Julie Sheridan (SCO)
‘There is a assured, euphonious quality to the performance of this poem. The poet’s use of rhyme and rhythm – especially in its use of internal rhyme – matches content to form, while the extended metaphor of intrusion and resistance gives it power, cohesion and shape.’
Congratulations to the 3 poets who made the final cut. We’d also like to highly commend Tom’s Pouch of Cure-stones by Paul McMahon (IRE).
To build on the moderate success of this competition – we will be running The Plaza Audio Poetry Prize again next year, with poet, writer and broadcaster, Paul Farley, as judge. Deadline: June 30th, 2024. So, plenty of time to get writing to record your work. This is a great opportunity to break into audio-publishing.
The NEW Plaza Poetry Prize (20 lines) is open to enter NOW. Judged by Rory Waterman. 1st prize: £1,000. All those who entered Audio Poetry can email us for a 50% discount link: simon@theplazaprizes.com