Take the idea of an 'eco-poetry competition'. Before I can even begin to contemplate the honour of judging such a prize (thank you Verve!), I'm hung up on the phrase's constituent parts. What does it mean for poems to 'compete' against one another? I like the idea of poems teeming and swarming, setting each other off, egging each other on. I'm less keen on the idea of them jostling for position, elbowing each other in the hope of getting my approval.
So the various commended and winning entries did all I could have hoped for: made me laugh, made me grieve, terrified me and made me hope. MacCaig wouldn't be happy unless I singled out a poem in praise of creatures and luckily there were many wonderful pieces that tried to grapple with the consciousness of other beings. My favourite of these was 'Byrdie', a poem celebrating the brilliance of the ingenious octopus:
Helen Mort
Sue's commended poem 'Byrdie' is on page 28
Ourselves in Rivers and Oceans - a poetry anthology
from The Wee Sparrow Poetry Press
A collection of poems from over 100 international writers reflecting on the theme of ´water´, with original illustrations by Scottish artist, Colin Thom.
All proceeds are donated to charity.
The front cover features a photograph by professional photographer Mike Curry.
The foreword is written by Easkey Britton, PhD. Surfer, scientist, explorer and more. Author of Ebb & Flow, Saltwater in the Blood, and 50 Things to Do by the sea.
Sue's poem 'Droplets' is on page 148
Night Lines began its life during the Covid years when groups were not permitted to meet and the need for community was amplified by that situation. Taking the usual spoken word performances online, T'Articulation discovered a wider audience and an appetite for broader horizons. A project was needed that would stretch our bounds and celebrate our writers' work and so the idea of an anthology was born.
Thank you to William Blake for a self-publishing legacy with which we have been able to connect. The poem Night was perfect to inspire 48 pieces of work; short stories, flash and poetry as well as art work.
'Ogre' [Pg 65] and 'The Practical Angel' [Pg 81]
Hysteria 10 is the anthology of all winning stories, flash fiction and poetry from the 2023 Hysteria Writing Competition. This is the tenth year of the Hysteria Writing Competition. The theme this year was MAGIC.
Editor: Linda Parkinson-Hardman
Commended Poem: 'The Dangerous Third Wish'
Black Bough Poetry celebrate 100 years since the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in the valley of the Kings in 1922. Be moved, spellbound and transported by poems and prose from writers across the world; get inspired, too, by Rebecca Wainwright's illustrations and a stirring musical score on line by Stuart Rawlinson.
Sue's poem 'Cartouche' appears on page 25
The poems in this volume are poems so 'full of heat and light that it feels sometimes as if they might burst into flame and burn everything around them. There are poems of anger, but also poems full of love, full of vulnerability, poems rooted in the body, poems that draw together the social, political and the personal and make those connections feel inevitable, feel timeless...To write a poem of protest is also to write a poem of hope, because if we didn't have hope, we wouldn't protest...I Kim Moore in her introduction
Sue's poem 'Astronaut' appears on page 49
Hysteria 9 is the anthology of all winning stories, flash fiction and poetry from the 2022 Hysteria Writing Competition. This is the ninth year of the Hysteria Writing Competition. The theme this year was PEACE.
Editor: Linda Parkinson-Hardman
Commended Poem: 'Withheld Voices'
Ware Open Poetry Competition 2022
Judge: Jonathan Edwards
...is surely amongst the greatest conceivable titles for a poem, and Sue Spiers's poem fully lives up to its promise. Great poems change the way we look at the world: we can never again look at the statue in the same way after reading this poem, yet we can't believe we haven't previously seen it in the way the poem describes.
Commended poem: 'Christ the Redeemer as a Flamengo F. C. Supporter' Page 38
Binstead/South Downs Competition 2022
Judge: Naomi Foyle
Pleased as I was to read such a compassionate and informed collection of poems, ultimately, I was seeking poems that generated their own power and velocity, and invited the reader to dwell on and within them. All the poems in this anthology were arresting on first reading and revealed greater depth of heart and ingenuity each time I returned to them. They became friends I was always glad to meet in the crowd, my pleasure in their company only growing with time.
Commended Poem 'Piecework' Page 21
Two poems feature in this anthology:
Winchester Cathedral Gargoyle
Theatre Royal Jewry Street
Welcome to our second Christmas and winter edition, volume 2. Once again, it's a privilege to curate a festive collection of stunning poems alongside Emma Bissonnet's artwork. In this book, we feature the work of over sixty writers and include some short poetic prose. This is a volume to dip in and out of - rich, condensed, imagistic work about Christmas and other winter festivals. The poets take us to frozen, bleak landscapes within and without and through the blasts of arctic winds, through dark snowstorms to memory-orbs of warmth and illumination. Matthew M. C. Smith - Editor - Black Bough Poetry.
'Cinquain - Holly Hill' Page 50
VER poetry competition 2021
Judge: Andre Mangeot
So what was I looking for? That's always hard to pin down - different poems grab you in different ways. TS Eliot-winning poet George Szirtes has commented that "the best poems we understand with our nerves". I think we all recognise that feeling. To delve a little deeper, however, to me the most successful almost always include a combination of the following: freshness of approach, irrespective of subject; willingness to risk and surprise; confidence and consistency in style and tone; evidence of technical craft and familiarity with contemporary poetry and, of course, diligent care in word-choice, editing and honing.
'Gravity' selected for the anthology P 38
Binstead/South Downs Competition 2021
Judge: David Swann
A different judge would have chosen a different top 30. However, I followed a method I’ve learned to trust: to wait for the most memorable poems to rise from the pile – and then for the final handful to rise beyond being simply memorable – and to become haunting. These were the poems that the hairs on my skin remembered -- the ones I thought about when I was out walking, or digging on our allotment, or trying to concentrate on my teaching duties.
Commended poem 'The Neighbour' Page 12
In this book-length poem, curated by Carl Griffin, poets from across the world speak in one voice in response to 2020’s life-changing pandemic. Not a definitive voice, nor an authoritative one. But a contrasting, contradicting, confused voice, set both in the UK and everywhere else, represented by one narrator who, just like the rest of us, is made up of a hundred different people. A narrator cohesive only in his/her/their contemplation of Elsewhere.
Elsewhere has arrived…
to everyone affected by the Covid-19 pandemic – in aid of NHS Charities Together
Shortlisted for Saboteur Award 2021 - 'Best Collaborative Work'
Binstead/South Downs competition 2020,
Judge: Stephanie Norgate
Many congratulations also to the writers of the Highly Commended and Commended poems, which early on found their way from the 'possible' to 'yes' folder. I read the last fifty poems repeatedly to arrive at those selected for the anthology and enjoyed the variety of approaches. Stephanie Norgate, May 2020.
Commended poem, 'How to Find the One' Page 12.
An Interview with Editor Adele C. Geraghty can be found on the BTSA website https://www.betweenthesshoresbooks.com/call-for-submissions-2018 with Nava Renek
Sue is one of the 6 featured poets in this edition with three poems: 'From Nagoya to Kalaeloa', 'Fishing' and 'Four Women, One Boat' on pages 30-31
The Pocket Poetry Book of Cricket is part of our series of A6-sized pocket poetry books, perfect to pop in a pocket, a bag or send with a greetings card to make it extra-special.
Sue's poem 'Cricket Widow' appears on page 12
This anthology is part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government project, led by Big Ideas, to encourage the British public to remember the labour force of WWI.
There are 300,000 war graves and memorials in Britain from both world wars and so many more unremarked-upon graves holding those who have not traditionally been remembered for their war effort.
In association with:
Worcester Writers Circle
Worcestershire Litfest & Fringe
OU Poets
Worcester Severn Rotary Club
Black Pear Press
Sue's poem 'The Year of Living Dangerously' is on page 10
Plans to build 5,000 houses between ancient woodlands in Bishopstoke, Hampshire and their impact on wildlife and well-being have caused writers from across the world to speak out in support of the campaign to protect this precious green space.
Words for the Wild's anthology is an exquisite walk on the wild side. These beautiful poems take us from mountain peaks to the sea shore and are the perfect gift for any wildlife enthusiast. A reminder not to take our natural treasures for granted.
Rosie Johnston
Sue's poem 'Field of Vision' is on page 48
This anthology brings together and celebrates the very best new poetry from 23 poets who have read their work at Loose Muse Winchester, a monthly event for women writers, organised and presented by poet, Sue Wrinch. Editors Sue Wrinch and Abegail Morley.
'poems exploring nature, childhood, memory and history. A book to read, return to and treasure.' Jacqueline Saphra.
'The poems in this anthology are a tribute to the sense of community and creativity which has been fostered by this lively reading series.' Kim Moore
Sue's poems 'Fatal Beauty' and 'Kimbridge Bumps and Troop Trains' appear on pages 20 & 24 respectively.
Raving Beauties women's theatre company was born out of a deep sense of frustration with domesticity, naivete and a burning need for a creative outlet. It led to an enormous personal, political and professional learning curve. Hallelujah for 50ft Women is their third anthology of women's poetry.
Bloodaxe Books: www.bloodaxebooks.com
This book has been selected from over a thousand submissions. New poets published here for the first time are proud to share this anthology with established writers such as Selima Hill, Kim Addonizio, Jackie Kay and Helen Dunmore. By revealing the complex depths of our relationships with our bodies Hallelujah for 50ft Women makes a much needed contribution to a compassionate understanding of our evolving selves.
Sue's poem, 'Fanny Farts' is on page 140
Best of British is a wonderful anthology of accessible, varied and memorable poems. Now funny, now moving, its highlights include Angela Redman's thoughts on the sex lives of neighbours and Paul Stephenson's brilliant transplanting of Frank O'Hara's walking New York poems to give us a British town in all its richness. Lawrence Wilson offers a timely satire of the UK citizenship test and ultimately, and importantly, these are poems for and about people as much about place.
Jonathan Edwards
Paper Swans Press https://paperswans.co.uk
Sue's poem 'Tar Balls' is on page 75
LIMERICKS DESERVE RESPECT - which doesn't mean they have to be staidly respectable and they certainly shouldn't be respectful. But while poets put their talents to sonnets, sestinas, pantoums, clerihews or haiku, the limerick form can too often be dismissed as bawdy frippery, simplistic, lightweight, even base.
This anthology looks in its own humble way to help restore the limerick's credibility without removing its essential sense of fun. The fact poems are not supposed to be 'fun' partly explains the limerick's tarnished reputation.
Iron Press www.ironpress.co.uk
Sue's poem on Southampton is on page 73
Hysteria 4 is the anthology of all 30 winning stories, flash fiction and poetry from the 2015 Hysteria Writing Competition.
Each category has 10 fantastic winners that all challenge women to reflect and review how they think about life. Our annual theme is always 'women', in their many and varied guises. This year a standout theme was that of strength and diversity.
Sue's poem 'The Weight of Glass' won the poetry competition and can be found on page 37
This immensely readable anthology offers inspirational advice and promotes the creativity of the authors of the first-place winning entries submitted to the ten writing competitions held each year. These competitions are a valued part of the Hampshire Writers' Society and provide an opportunity to have work recognised by industry specialists, to widen writing horizons and to bring a focus and discipline to all aspects of writing.
Barbara Large MBE FRSA HFUW
Sue's poem 'Wiping The Slate Blank' won April 2014 page 140