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Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2024: Lab Work
by Onyekachi Iloh
Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2024: Lab Work
A posse of pilgrims once lost in the desert’s eye
lumbered around in circles looking for a familiar constellation.
Finding nothing but the biting sea of sand,
despair intimated them of the hounds’ flight into the sky’s great dark.
The huntsman was presumably mauled, and the bears, presumably shot—
blood shadowing their crawl into the lightless recesses of space and myth.
In the story no one dares tell, there is a host of us who hate
because that which we loved, did not love us back.
I belong to no flag but the nation of boundless waves and heedless winds—
in unison did the multitude of us lie about where the blade twists
or if the knife entered at all.
We walked streets named after despots,
pressed our thumbs into the evening’s oranges,
and swung our beloveds’ arms this way and that, singing of the body,
its technicoloured radiance when beheld through the lens of hunger.
Everyone, not just us, wants to be wanted and conquered
enough to dribble with honey;
nobody else, just us, is hunted and scourged with conquest.
I aim to be more specific in my supplications, Lord. I aim, I fail.
I pray: please draw the bullseye where my arrow needles the earth.
Twilight shards the wall into hexagonal cities sharp and precise,
as the sun streams through the window grille and the room becomes an empire of light.
Prayer calls the pious as a distant church bell eats another hour.
Cavafy lies face-down on the bed—
his spine, like mine, is halved with the hunger for another country.
I always admit the hunger but do I ever admit the love?
In getting the tongue to profess revulsion when the heart telegraphs attraction,
I became a mad scientist engrossed with the making of his personal heaven.
For singing jauntily and counting too often my ribs with the barbed tip of a spear,
I became intent on inventing a more palatable feeling towards the motherland.
The sun-sired cities vanish, the pilgrims grow fat on one another’s blood,
and I do not notice the table rotting beneath the test tubes,
the pipettes turning to dust in their racks,
or the vines vaulting up the walls
with the gentleness of a second language affecting speech.
A special thank you to our WordView 2024 poets.
Hear from some 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."
From Joe Williams:
"I was very pleased to hear my poem ‘Carol Prepares Her Third Perm of the Day’ was to be included in the Poetry Archive’s Now! Wordview 2024 collection. These collections provide a great snapshot of the year in poetry, featuring a diverse range of poets, and I’m particularly interested in the way they include grass roots writers as well as some better known names. My poem is taken from a pamphlet I’m currently working on, and it’s fantastic to have the support of the Poetry Archive as I look ahead to approaching potential publishers."
See the collectionWatch the full Wordview 2024 playlist