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Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2024: Ars Poetica: the witness
by Chidozie Emesowum
Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2024: Ars Poetica: the witness
After Ocean Vuong
I.
It was nothing else, but the word
That fleshed the darkness with light.
Look at this sea of bodies, my love
The arms of the potter are clad in mud
& butterflies are bobbing around it. See
The motion of god’s mouth, the air, blank
Till words are strewn as form, as miracle.
Are you still in awe, my love? Watch
As air swirls into a man’s bone as blood,
Our Father’s mouth whistling into the
Hollow, that symphony of holy breath.
Your arms are not your arms, too new
Until you weigh them against the wind.
Look in the mirror, my love, look at
How you’ve arrived— god from God,
Love from love, the word in utter flesh.
II.
It was nothing else, but a lengthy dream
Pressed into the soft shine of your skull.
Are you asleep, beloved? God is kneeling
Before you, sinking his hand into your side
Can you feel his fist spreading in your belly
Like a season or is it divine? To make Eve
He needed a rib, broken & thrashed into
A spine, he needed water for the tenderness
Of voice & skin. He needed loneliness.
A special thank you to our WordView 2024 poets.
Hear from two of our winners this year on what the Archive and winning has meant to them:
From William Wyld:
'As a neuro-diverse poet who has struggled to engage with books, reading aloud made literature accessible to me. The Poetry Archive is such a valuable resource and to be included as a winner is a wonderful surprise, giving me validation as an artist, the motivation to keep writing and performing, and the confidence to submit my work widely. I recorded at the last minute, walking by a river through the undergrowth as the light was fading, so my poem could be heard with the movement of the landscape. It was an experiment, but good things happen when we take risks.'
From Sarah Morris:
'I felt that I would enter the PAN competition as my last submission of the year as it is a fun one to do. I enjoy reading out my poems and doing videos and bonus with PAN as they are put up online. I like that these poems are accessible by everyone.
When I got the ' you are a winner' email – I felt super impressed that I had been included for a top 20 selection – I felt validated that my work has been recognised and it has inspired me to keep on writing and re drafting next year.'
From Nuri Rosegg:
'A British friend told me about PAN. I’m grateful to her and to PAN that I could enter this fabulous poetry competition. This year (just like last year when I entered for the first time) I felt grateful, excited and a little bit nervous due to the video-making challenge. However, it was great fun to read out loud my own piece of work. It’s another dimension being able to present my poem to the audience “live” from around the world than just having them read my text. Being one of the winners this year makes me so happy, grateful and proud. Thanks, PAN!'
From Julie-Ann Rowell:
"It is an honour to have my reading of my poem ‘Newsworthy’ chosen for the Poetry Archive Now! WordView 2024 project, representing poets writing in English in 2024. This particular year has been deeply challenging, and I wanted to write about George Orwell for whom the exchange of information and how this can be distorted was of prime significance. His world view is as relevant today as it ever was. Poetry has an important task to do in representing what is happening in the world and the Poetry Archive does a fantastic job of storing recordings of poets at work for future generations. Hearing poets’ voices brings their words into a more personal and lasting frame, and the Archive is free for anyone to listen in and find their favourite poet or discover a new one. I am so proud to be a part of it."
See the collectionWatch the full Wordview 2024 playlist