The Red Shed Poetry Competition 2024 Judge's Comments
Is selecting poems in a competition different to choosing those for a magazine? Think I’ll leave you to be the judge: contrast and compare the Featured Writers Section to the rest of Orbis…
Yes, so many winning poems, and so many only just missed out, and had me intrigued; that’s the way to an Editor’s heart let me tell you, giving me an appetite to read on and discover more. All the poems were heartfelt and I don’t doubt that each entrant worked as hard as they could, but sadly, errors in punctuation and spelling do count, as well as typos. With computers, you have the opportunity to get it right, even if not going by that quite chilling business school imperative: the first time, every time.
The devil, or me on this occasion, is in the detail: strong titles, openings and endings… no stating the obvious or glib/petering out. And though a couple redeemed themselves with a killer last line; sadly too little, too late. But short and sweet (ish) can be as effective as long and complicated, and preferably no misplaced words or incongruous imagery. Fancy fonts and layouts, use of bold etc do not improve matters, just as Satire is not improved when using something trite by way of description..
As for rhyme (Orbis being one of the few magazines which still entertains it), has to be impeccable, without taking precedence over content. Nor give the impression of being the first word comes to mind which matches… Or random choice; can suggest frustration or exasperation. Or sporadic use; if you’re going for rhyme, much stronger and less jarring when the poem follows a scheme.
As for issues, indeed, why not, providing you feel passionately about them, not because you think you ought to – in fact same goes for experiences etc, although just because it’s true, no need to include every little detail; it’s a poem not a diary
The best poems have mastery (narrator) and control (writer): authority and authenticity. They may seem effortless but you just know how much has gone into them. However, it’s easy for a judge to be led astray(tempted by anything to do with cats; Japan; Dorothea Tanning...), or conversely, be bored with the familiar. That said, the skill to make the ordinary into something extraordinary is a winning formula: relationship, difficult
feelings, memories. As is creating a brave new world with stunningly original ideas,
positively surreal in some cases, otherwise difficult to describe, from casual
encounters with wild animals to profound conversations with rabbits; illness as a pet to a force of Nature as a wannabe.
The best poems tell me something I didn’t know. They make me appreciate something new, welcoming me into their world. Once inside, I am completely engaged, completely forgetting what’s outside. But well worth remembering, and happy I am indeed to know, anybody whose work appears in Orbis feels that they have come out on top.
Carole Baldock
Editor, Orbis Magazine
Red Shed Poetry Competition 2024 Adjudicator
The Red Shed Poetry Comp 2024 RESULTS
Congratulations to all who entered this year's competition. Hearty congratulations to anyone who has their name featured in the following list.
Winner:
My Mother Navigates, Joanna Wright, Ullapool.
Second Place:
A Dream of Wojtek (Ursus arctos syracus), Marion Oxley, Todmorden.
Runners Up in alphabetical order:
A Bell in the Back Yard, Maria Castro Dominguez, Canary Islands, Spain.
Escape, Nell Farrell, Sheffield.
The Shape Shifting Ghosts of Byland Abbey, Ian Harker, Leeds.
Ad Reliquos, Charlotte Stokes Meyer zu Natrup, Hamburg, Germany
Killay, Michael W. Thomas, Stourport on Severn, Worcs.
Wakefield Postcode Prize
Listed here in alphabetical order. The winner will be announced at the awards event on Sunday 26th May.
Life on Love Street, Tim Brookes
Birds at Bempton Cliffs, Lisa Falshaw
Love Letter, Lisa Falshaw
Ageing, June Hurst
Gravity, Stephen Littlejohn
Butchered, Ali Murphy
He Wanted to Shave the Inside of his Head, Debs Robinson
If you are planning to attend the Awards Event on Sunday 26th May, I would be grateful if you let me know via the contact page on this site.
John Clarke
Competition Organiser
Winner:
My Mother Navigates, Joanna Wright, Ullapool.
Second Place:
A Dream of Wojtek (Ursus arctos syracus), Marion Oxley, Todmorden.
Runners Up in alphabetical order:
A Bell in the Back Yard, Maria Castro Dominguez, Canary Islands, Spain.
Escape, Nell Farrell, Sheffield.
The Shape Shifting Ghosts of Byland Abbey, Ian Harker, Leeds.
Ad Reliquos, Charlotte Stokes Meyer zu Natrup, Hamburg, Germany
Killay, Michael W. Thomas, Stourport on Severn, Worcs.
Wakefield Postcode Prize
Listed here in alphabetical order. The winner will be announced at the awards event on Sunday 26th May.
Life on Love Street, Tim Brookes
Birds at Bempton Cliffs, Lisa Falshaw
Love Letter, Lisa Falshaw
Ageing, June Hurst
Gravity, Stephen Littlejohn
Butchered, Ali Murphy
He Wanted to Shave the Inside of his Head, Debs Robinson
If you are planning to attend the Awards Event on Sunday 26th May, I would be grateful if you let me know via the contact page on this site.
John Clarke
Competition Organiser
Red Shed Poetry Competition 2024 THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED
Generously sponsored by Mocca Moocho café, Cross Square, Wakefield
Sole adjudicator: Carole Baldock,
Editor, Orbis
Closing date: Friday 29th March, 2024
Prizes: 1st— £100 2nd—£50
Short listed poems - £20
Wakefield Postcode prize—£25
Entry fee: £3 for the first poem, £2 for subsequent poems.
Rules for EntryRULES FOR ENTRY: Please read and observe these rules carefully
· Entries must be accompanied by an appropriate entry fee: £3 for first entry, £2 for each poem subsequently entered.
Cheques (sterling only) must be made payable to Currock Press.
Postal entries should be sent to:
The Competition Organiser,
The Red Shed Open Poetry Competition,
3 Sandal Cliff,
Sandal,
Wakefield.
WF2 6AU
Please complete a cover sheet for your postal entries which includes titles of poems and your contact details. The one below can be
copied and pasted for that purpose.
Online entries
· Please follow the directions below very carefully:
We also accept poems via email. (Small surcharge. Sorry.) Such entries should have their PayPal payment number marked
clearly in the body of an email which also includes the poet's contact details and a list of titles of the entered poems.
The poems themselves should be on separate pages in one attachment. No identifying details on the poems
please.
So, in summary, one email with all details in the body of that email. One single attachment with all entered poems on separate sheets within that attachment.
Email entries to:
[email protected]
PayPal button available further down this page. Please choose the appropriate button.
· Entries eligible for the Wakefield postcode prize should be marked with a W in the top right-hand corner.
· We regret that we are unable to return poems or enter into any correspondence with entrants.
· The adjudicator’s decision is final.
· The closing date is Friday 29th March, 2024.
· Once again, we hope to hold a presentation event in Mocca Moocho cafe towards the end of May. Details to be confirmed.
· Copyright remains with the authors but Red Shed Readings reserves the right to print winning and highly commended poems.
Find out what Carole is looking for here.
Entries
First poem £3.50 GBP Two poems £5.50 GBP Three poems £7.50 GBP Four poems £9.50 GBP Five poems £12.00 GBP
Financial Assistance
Once again, thanks to a generous sponsor, we are able to offer six free, two-poem entries. i.e. six x £5 entries for anyone who feels that without such support they would not be able to take part in the competition. Anyone hoping to take advantage of this offer must first request a code from the competition organiser. The code should then be included on the cover sheet of their entry. You will not be expected to make a case for your request nor will any further mention be made of the support. Codes will be given out on a first come first served basis.
Competition organiser: [email protected]
The Red Shed Open Poetry Competition 2024 Entry Form
Titles of Poems submitted:
1. ___________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________
I enclose a cheque (payable to Currock Press) for the sum of £_________
Name: ______________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
email address: _________________________________________________
PayPal payment number: _________________________________________
Use the button below to enter the appropriate number of entries 1 - 5
Generously sponsored by Mocca Moocho café, Cross Square, Wakefield
Sole adjudicator: Carole Baldock,
Editor, Orbis
Closing date: Friday 29th March, 2024
Prizes: 1st— £100 2nd—£50
Short listed poems - £20
Wakefield Postcode prize—£25
Entry fee: £3 for the first poem, £2 for subsequent poems.
Rules for EntryRULES FOR ENTRY: Please read and observe these rules carefully
- The competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over.
- Poems should be in English, they must not have been previously published, nor be currently submitted for publication elsewhere. Please do not submit poems with which the adjudicator may be familiar following readings or workshops.
- Poems must be the original work of the entrant, they must be typed on plain A4 paper and be no longer than 50 lines.
- Each poem must be on a separate sheet of paper which must not bear names or any other form of identification.
- Postal entries may be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope which will be used for priority notification of results and judge's comments.
· Entries must be accompanied by an appropriate entry fee: £3 for first entry, £2 for each poem subsequently entered.
Cheques (sterling only) must be made payable to Currock Press.
Postal entries should be sent to:
The Competition Organiser,
The Red Shed Open Poetry Competition,
3 Sandal Cliff,
Sandal,
Wakefield.
WF2 6AU
Please complete a cover sheet for your postal entries which includes titles of poems and your contact details. The one below can be
copied and pasted for that purpose.
Online entries
· Please follow the directions below very carefully:
We also accept poems via email. (Small surcharge. Sorry.) Such entries should have their PayPal payment number marked
clearly in the body of an email which also includes the poet's contact details and a list of titles of the entered poems.
The poems themselves should be on separate pages in one attachment. No identifying details on the poems
please.
So, in summary, one email with all details in the body of that email. One single attachment with all entered poems on separate sheets within that attachment.
Email entries to:
[email protected]
PayPal button available further down this page. Please choose the appropriate button.
· Entries eligible for the Wakefield postcode prize should be marked with a W in the top right-hand corner.
· We regret that we are unable to return poems or enter into any correspondence with entrants.
· The adjudicator’s decision is final.
· The closing date is Friday 29th March, 2024.
· Once again, we hope to hold a presentation event in Mocca Moocho cafe towards the end of May. Details to be confirmed.
· Copyright remains with the authors but Red Shed Readings reserves the right to print winning and highly commended poems.
Find out what Carole is looking for here.
Entries
First poem £3.50 GBP Two poems £5.50 GBP Three poems £7.50 GBP Four poems £9.50 GBP Five poems £12.00 GBP
Financial Assistance
Once again, thanks to a generous sponsor, we are able to offer six free, two-poem entries. i.e. six x £5 entries for anyone who feels that without such support they would not be able to take part in the competition. Anyone hoping to take advantage of this offer must first request a code from the competition organiser. The code should then be included on the cover sheet of their entry. You will not be expected to make a case for your request nor will any further mention be made of the support. Codes will be given out on a first come first served basis.
Competition organiser: [email protected]
The Red Shed Open Poetry Competition 2024 Entry Form
Titles of Poems submitted:
1. ___________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________
I enclose a cheque (payable to Currock Press) for the sum of £_________
Name: ______________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
email address: _________________________________________________
PayPal payment number: _________________________________________
Use the button below to enter the appropriate number of entries 1 - 5