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Poetic Peaches & Dreams'
2002 Love Poetry from A-P Best Poems ~  |
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1st Prize (Gold) - $50.00 What Language - by J.P. Dancing Bear |
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2nd Prize (Silver) - $30.00 Only The Call - by Dave McClure
3rd Prize (Bronze) - $20.00 A Fine Romance - by Rod Nichols |
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* * * Honorable Mention Poems* * *
The seven poems linked above were selected by the judges as they composed their top 10 poem list from the approximately 300 poems entered in the 2002 competition. Thanks to every person who entered this contest and a special "thank you" to the two judges who volunteered their valuable time to read all the poems entered. They thoughtfully chose the ten poems they deemed to be truly the best ones entered. Their decisions were based on the following criteria:"We have agreed on our selection of the top ten picks in the love poetry competition. Although we had some original divergence in our preferences, after some discussion, we feel comfortable with the following list. You’re the final arbiter, of course, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of your personal favorites are missing from our list, and that some of ours aren’t on your list of anticipated winners. That reality reflects the difference of expectations among readers of the poems, and I expect some of the entrants who didn’t make the cut will wonder why their poem(s) didn’t make the final group, and why some of the ones that made the cut were selected."
"We considered such poetic features and expectations as immediacy, lyricism, imagination, style, music, and the use of metaphor, as well as such necessary touches as attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar. But mostly we looked for poems that carried out the grand theme of love in clear, convincing, fresh and sympathetic ways in the best poetic tradition."
"We liked the winning poem, “What Language” for its imaginative treatment of its subject and the sincere and immediate way it connected with us as readers."
"We liked “Only the Call of a Costermonger” for its eerie and poignant treatment of the reminiscences of love and how a familiar voice will sometimes take us a world or a lifetime away and back to a keenly-remembered time."
"We enjoyed “A Fine Romance” for its lightheartedness and its wry look at how love can sometimes go awry, and how advice to the lovelorn may sometimes backfire."
"And we liked all of the honorable mentions for various cogent reasons, noting that they were very close together in the final standings. All in all, this was a group of poems memorable for its varied treatment of how love is perceived, experienced, cultivated and remembered. Many poems, although they didn’t make the final selection, could fit well into a collection of poems on the topic, and taken together were a revelation and a pleasure to read."
I look forward to the 4th annual LOVE poetry competition . . . same time next year!Sincerely - Anne Bryant-Hamon~
- Publisher of Poetic Peaches & Dreams
and The Wee Poet Tree
