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Does the Forward Arts Foundation have a stance towards the identities of their judges? Barry Alpert On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 22:22:30 +0200, Anny Ballardini <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >*Emerging artists on shortlist for most valuable poetry prize* > > >Mark Brown, Arts correspondent > > > >Iambic pentameters, hexameters and trochees have been drawn. Britain's most >valuable poetry prize today releases its shortlist, featuring a higher than >usual number of new and emerging poets. > >Poems published by specialist presses are also well represented in the >Forward poetry prize list, on which women outnumber men for the first time >since 1999. > >Judges chose six poets from 133 collections they considered for the £10,000 >best collection prize, including the prolific Sujata Bhatt, whose poem >Search for my Tongue will be familiar to many GCSE English students. > >Her collection Pure Lizard is shortlisted, as is that of another familiar >name, Jamie McKendrick, who won the prize in 1997 and is on the list for his >fifth collection, Crocodiles and Obelisks. > >Lovers of poetry with longer memories may recall Mick Imlah, who published >his first collection in 1988 and waited 20 years to follow it up this year >with The Lost Leader. > >Well known in poetry circles, Imlah's new poems have been much praised, with >the Guardian review saying the volume "has an overall coherence, strength >and emotional depth seldom encountered in modern poetry collections". > >They are up against three poets from the up and coming generation: Catherine >Smith, a creative writing tutor at Sussex University, for Lip; Jane >Griffiths, an English lecturer at Bristol University, for Another Country; >and Jen Hadfield, who lives in Shetland working as a poet, tutor, artist and >occasional shop assistant, who is shortlisted for her second collection >Nigh-No-Place, which she wrote in Canada. > >The prize for the best single poem will be fought out by six poets, >including Seamus Heaney — still yet to win anything in the prize's 17-year >history — who is shortlisted for Cutaways. The others are Christopher >Buehlman for Wanton; Catherine Ormell for Campaign Desk, December 1812; Don >Paterson for Love Poem for Natalie 'Tusja' Beridze, Kate Rhodes for >Wells-next-the-Sea, and Tim Turnbull for Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn. > >The £5,000 prize for best first collection will be decided between Simon >Barraclough for Los Alamos Mon Amour, Andrew Forster for Fear of Thunder, >Frances Leviston for Public Dream, Alison McVety for The Night Trotsky Came >to Stay, Stephanie Norgate for Hidden River and Kathryn Simmonds for Sunday >at the Skin Launderette. > >William Sieghart, founder of the awards and chairman of the Forward Arts >Foundation, said it was an exciting year for stars of the future as well as >poets who deserved more exposure. > >He added: "It's thrilling to see a huge presence of specialist presses who >are offering a platform for poets with exceptional futures." The winners >will be announced on October 8. > >-- >Anny Ballardini >http://annyballardini.blogspot.com/ >http://www.fieralingue.it/modules.php?name=poetshome >http://www.moriapoetry.com/ebooks.html >I Tell You: One must still have chaos in one to give birth to a dancing >star!