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Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2022: A Photograph from Irpen July 2022
by Lena Zycinsky
The war in the Ukraine
Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2022: A Photograph from Irpen July 2022
The mid-summer heat scratches the day
like a number in a lottery ticket. If tomorrow arrives
(& without a blast), it is a good fortune.
Seven people, cooling off
in the gunmetal-grey water, share laughter.
Over them,
on the other side of the riverbank: the blackened bones
of a multistorey housing hit by enemy missiles.
The slender girls in petite bikinis; the men
smirking as men do. Flirting like what the hell –
every day is the last day.
A special thank you to our WordView 2021 poets.
Chair of the Judging Panel, Joelle Taylor, says: "We were thrilled by the range and scope of the poetry and techniques explored throughout the wide submissions. I have said before that to write a poem is an act of resistance but to then perform it as well is a revolution. It takes a bravery to face the page, and a further one to stand by your words. While we’ve all become more used to filming ourselves over the pandemic, all of us were deeply aware of that courage.
Often when on a judging panel we find ourselves faced with impossible decisions. If you can imagine, after sifting, it’s as though a hundred people have crossed the finish line at precisely the same moment but there are only three medals. How do we come to these decisions? Through the objective unpicking of the poems, through our individual passions, through a consideration of narratives, especially those lesser heard. We come to it through uneasy negotiation and through heart, and above all through our shared love and understanding of the possibilities of poetry.
Our honest applause goes to all who submitted, and I hope you can hear it.
Congratulations to those we selected. We hope to see you all again soon."
See the collectionWatch the full Wordview 2022 playlist