OPC2023A

OPC2024A – Black Eyes Publishing UK & Gloucestershire Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition 2023 Anthology

An anthology of poems from the Black Eyes Publishing UK, Gloucestershire Poetry Society (GPS) 2023 Open Poetry Competition. The total entry for the 2023 competition was 568 poems, with all entries being considered anonymously throughout the process.

Longlisting was undertaken by Josephine Lay (Former Dir. Of Ops for the GPS & lead editor for Black Eyes Publishing) with assistance from Jason Conway (Current Dir. Of Ops for the GPS).  The Longlist consisted of 77 poems. All longlisted poems were eligible for this anthology.  However, several eligible poems were withdrawn once the results had been announced, to be either submitted elsewhere or reworked.

The Longlist was judged by Jessica Mookherjee (her judge's report is included in this anthology). Jessica produced a Shortlist of 21 poems before settling on the final results.

The GPS Friendship Prize was judged by Josephine from the 75 poems submitted to The Black Eyes, Gloucestershire Poetry Society (GPS) 2023 Open Poetry Competition by GPS Friendship Members.  Josephine’s judge’s report is included in this anthology, together with the poems included in the results.

Finally, many thanks and congratulations to the judges for their choices.

Peter Lay - Black Eyes Publication UK (December 2023)

Black Eyes / Gloucestershire Poetry Society 2023 Open Poetry Competition

Judge:  Jessica Mookherjee - When looking for the winning poems among all the worthy long list, I asked myself some fundamental questions. The first set of questions were about the difficult arena of craft and the last couple of questions were about emotion and impact. For a poet walks those lines between craft and art as well as performance.

Winner:             We dug a hole – Charlotte Stokes Meyer zu Natrup - I kept returning to this poem over and over again – its sheer exuberance and confidence left me breathless.

Second Place:   Gloria holds my hand en San Bernardino – Linda Ravenswood

Third Place:       Philip Larkin meets Josephine Baker – Emma Conally-Barklem

Highly Commended:   Eating Goat Curry – Jenny Mitchell

Highly Commended:   and when the children vomited – Owen Gallagher

Highly Commended:   In the November Square, Kherson – Tess Biddington

Highly Commended:   Strict and Immovable – Alan Dunnett

Highly Commended:   Sky of loz Feliz – Linda Ravenswood

The Gloucestershire Poetry Society Friendship Membership Prize

Judge:  Josephine Lay - This year, both the long listing of the GPS Open Poetry Competition, and the Friendship Prize, were challenging. There were many poems that caught my attention, some lyrical judging of the, some sharp on the page, some full of images and some that brought tears.

The GPS Friendship Prize:   In the November Square, Kherson – Tess Biddington - This poem placed me, both visually and emotionally, in that recently occupied, and then recaptured, Ukrainian City of Kherson. The poetry was tight, cleverly executed and well-placed on the page. I found myself reading it over and over again, finding a new nuance/insight each time.

Highly Commended:   No Country – Sharon Savory

Commended:   Aubade – Vicky Hampton

Commended:   After the moon – Sally Aspden

Mentioned:   The Scarf – Annie Ellis