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Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2022: This Poem
by Rachel Davies
Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2022: This Poem
after Josephine Corcoran
This poem will only mention daffodils in passing. It will never smoke dope in its man-cave or fight a Greek war to forget its sexy sister. This
poem didn’t go to Oxbridge. It never joined debating societies, or got a career boost from fellow undergrads who owed it a little favour;
entitlement is not in this poem’s lexicon. This poem never learned how to scramble to the top by trampling better poems underfoot. Sandi
Toksvig wants to settle down to a quiet life in Copenhagen with this poem. It never joined the Carlton Club, got drunk and groped a junior
minister; and if it had it would have held its hands up and not expected a like-minded colleague to protect its reputation. It would never see
Groper by name, groper by nature as a good pun. This poem will never use populist three word clichés to hoodwink readers: Sonnet
Means Sonnet; Get Edits Done; Font, Count, Send. It will never raise several glasses to its boozy anthology and party, party while other
poems watch through a window or a tablet screen as their first lines are erased. This poem will not think itself a champion of the people
because it once appeared on Have I Got News For You. It will never shut itself in the first house in the land stamping its privileged feet on
the donor-funded carpet and refuse to leave. This poem will know when its time is up and not cling on till its last lines bleed. It will never
publicise its own haiku to wring sympathy; never dream of resigning as a victim.
Poem recorded as part of Poetry Archive Now: Wordview 2022. Used by permission of author.
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