鈥楽cience Around Us鈥� Micropoetry Competition 2023 winners unveiled
A panel of judges including former University Chancellor and poet Lemn Sissay, Creative 野狼社区 Director and Professor of Poetry and 野狼社区-based poet and critic Maryam Hessavi, gathered to judge this year鈥檚 Micropoetry Competition entries.
The panel took a shortlist of the most intriguing of this year鈥檚 entries and selected the very best based on their professional judgement and instincts.
This year鈥檚 poetry competition took place from 21 March 2023 to 21 June 2023. Entrants were asked to respond to the theme of 鈥楽cience Around Us鈥� in no more than 280 characters.
The winning poem was submitted by Roy on Twitter and created a thoughtful discussion among the judges about its ability to make a strong connection in short, impactful statements.
鈥淚t really takes a lot of work to make something seem so effortless yet capture so much intrigue鈥� commented Sissay.
鈥淚t鈥檚 taking facts and creating something truly magical It has a killer last line, a threat of a single pebble altering the height of the sea; it鈥檚 really something.鈥�
鈥淚 like this. You can see the thought and planning; every line matters which is so important in micropoetry鈥� added McAuliffe. 鈥淭hey are making us see science, taking these big ideas and transforming these into really vivid imagery; I鈥檓 impressed.鈥�
Hessavi noted: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very powerful story of science in nature, it has a really strong, pulsating rhythm throughout. The 鈥榩lants that survive drought鈥� section gives such a great impression and really captures the emotion of science too.鈥�
The prize for the winning poem this year was 拢500, with 拢250 in prize money going to two runners-up.
The first runner-up, submitted by Lauren on Twitter was well liked by all judges, with Sissay remarking 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of work gone into this, the way it is structured, accompanied by the sounds captures that true impact of science and energy into a well thought piece.鈥�
Second runner-up submitted by Animashaun Ameen via email was praised by McAuliffe, saying 鈥淏lue Heaven has a narrative that creates a strong connection with the reader, I particularly liked the 鈥榤istaking lightning for thunder鈥� line which establishes how hard it is to know the world and gets that across to the reader early on.鈥�
In the under-18s category, a poem submitted by Maya Pal, aged 8, most impressed the judges with Hessavi commenting on Maya鈥檚 ability. Hessavi said 鈥渢o generate vivid imagery in a condensed, character-limited entry shows a high level of creativity for Maya鈥檚 age. Congratulations.鈥�
Finally, a poem named 鈥楾oast鈥� was highly commended. The judges highlighted the poem鈥檚 ability to praise and give thanks to some of scientific creation and others in existence. Sissay said: 鈥溾�機heers to engines鈥�, it鈥檚 a strong, powerful opening statement and we go from industry to 鈥榯he sun and moon鈥� and how science is everywhere we look and in everything we do.鈥�
John McAuliffe said:
鈥楽cience around us鈥� as a theme gave our entrants a great breadth of possibilities to explore. The poems we talked about build pictures, or they tell a story and they showcase the importance of the theme. We are delighted to have had so many brilliant entries this year, especially seeing how variously the poems presented different takes on the theme.