Gavin Bennett's Blog: 2015 April PAD Challenge: Results

While my preference is to unload all the results at once, I also don’t want to make folks wait any longer in hearing anything at all. So, I plan to do what I did last year, which is to release the winner and Top 10 list for each day as I receive them from the guest judges.

The delay has been entirely on my end. I won’t go into details, but I had a lot of unexpected surprises this spring and summer (some good, some not-so) that squeezed my time. My screening readers have been amazing, as have been my guest judges (click here to view them all).

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The winner is highlighted; the top 10 is in no particular order; an asterisk (*) denotes a poem that “almost” won. If you notice any errors (including your byline), please send me an e-mail at robert.brewer@fwcommunity.com to get it corrected as soon as possible.

I did not request or require that the guest judges do anything beyond picking a winning poem. However, when a guest judge shared some helpful remarks, I’ve included below that day’s Top 10 list.

Day 1:
Prompt: Resistance Poem
Guest Judge: Matthea Harvey

“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx
“xxxx,” by xxxx xxxx

Day 2:
Prompt: Secret Poem
Guest Judge: Afaa Michael Weaver

Day 3:
Prompt: Machine Poem
Guest Judge: Martha Silano

Day 4:
Prompt: Departure Poem
Guest Judge: Taylor Mali

“Out of Gas,” by Kimiko Martinez
“Striking out on my own,” by J. Lynn Sheridan
“Noctuary,” by Kelly Morse
“To Nowhere,” by Scott Jacobson
“When you checked out,” by Kendall A. Bell
“Sondie,” by Essie Rose
“Runaway,” by Emma Tranter
“Sunset Over,” by Janet Rice Carnahan
“departure,” by Angie Werren
“Lost Ripples of Float,” by Misky Braendeholm

Day 5:
Prompt: Vegetable Poem
Guest Judge: Denise Low

“Artichoke,” by Nurit Israeli
“Heirlooms,” by Megan Mills
“The Man Peeling Yams on Easter Morning,” by Bruce Niedt
“Pea Picking,” by Jane Shlensky
“Sex in the Time of Sweet Corn,” by Jane Shlensky
“June Garden,” by Marcia Jaron Morley
“Linguistics,” by Shaindel Beers
“I still choke on beets,” by Lara Eckener
“A couch potato’s last days,” by Kendall A. Bell
“Paring,” by De Jackson

Comments from Low: I love “Heirlooms” for its focus on description, compression, artful choice of the ordinary–all leading up to the final drama of mortality. Others have some lovely language, but this one, to me, most successfully combines form and content.

Day 6:
Prompt: Things Not as They Appear Poem
Guest Judge: Molly Peacock

“wilma suddenly,” by Angie Werren
“Running Shoes,” by Hyork
“Mata Hari Sees Herself,” by Fae Spurrier
“on drowning,” by kattra
“Appearances,” by Ashley Marie Egan
“Transform,” by Kay Winter
“a stone on the shore,” by C.B. Wentworth
“The Cowbird’s Egg,” by C. Cleo Creech
“Omens,” by Mike Jewett
“White on Blue,” by Margot Suydam

Comments from Peacock: “Mata Hari Sees Herself” is my top pick! With every line–no, every half line–the poem turns, and turns again, shifting scenes and points of view four times, all in a mere 49 words. The poet puts the subject in the title, then never mentions Mata Hari’s name again, like Wallace Stevens “Invective Against Swans,” a poem that never uses the word “swans.” From the first line, “Mara Hari Sees Herself” veers from the perceptions of the spy life (the dancers as liars) to the situation on the train in winter, then spins out to ask two questions, shifting perspectives to set the senses whirling. The poem widens out to pose those crucial questions in quirky rhythms and visceral vocabulary. There’s a genuine personality evoked with “If the wars want to eat us why not bite them back?” Then that bleak bravado turns inward with the wistful, romantic self-examination of the final five lines. I picked it because it was memorable and more than fulfilled the challenge “Things Not As They Appear.”

Day 7:
Prompt: Love and/or Anti-Love Poem
Guest Judge: David Kirby

Day 8:
Prompt: Dare Poem
Guest Judge: Denise Duhamel

“Your double dog dare,” by Sarah Metzler
“Eggnog in April,” by Marilyn Cavicchia
“When we were knife throwers…,” by Shaindel Beers
“Report of the Tomb’s Excavator,” by Amy Miller
“Washing the Bones,” by JoAnn Anglin
“Night Fallings,” by De Jackson
“The Kiss,” by Maria Bouka
“Dare,” by Donald Illich
“early work,” by Barton Smock
“Invocation,” by Pedro Poitevin

Day 9:
Prompt: Work Poem
Guest Judge: Alison Stine

Day 10:
Prompt: “How (blank)” Poem
Guest Judge: Ruben Quesada

Day 11:
Prompt: Seasonal Poem
Guest Judge: Michael Dylan Welch

Day 12:
Prompt: Damage Poem
Guest Judge: Kim Addonizio

Day 13:
Prompt: Confession Poem
Guest Judge: Terri Kirby Erickson

Day 14:
Prompt: Honest and/or Dishonest Poem
Guest Judge: Annie Finch

Day 15:
Prompt: Make Adjective Title of Poem
Guest Judge: Alberto Rios

Day 16:
Prompt: Science Poem
Guest Judge: Cecilia Woloch

Day 17:
Prompt: Swing Poem
Guest Judge: Todd Boss

Day 18:
Prompt: Pick 2 Vowels & Write a Poem (with only those)
Guest Judge: Christian Bok

Day 19:
Prompt: Authority Poem
Guest Judge: Dorianne Laux

Day 20:
Prompt: “My (blank), the (blank)” Poem
Guest Judge: Megan Volpert

Day 21:
Prompt: What You Are and/or What You Are Not Poem
Guest Judge: J.P. Dancing Bear

Day 22:
Prompt: Nature Poem
Guest Judge: Justin Marks

Day 23:
Prompt: Historic Poem
Guest Judge: Kathryn Stripling Byer

Day 24:
Prompt: Moment Poem
Guest Judge: Matt Rasmussen

Day 25:
Prompt: Across the Sea Poem
Guest Judge: Todd Swift

Day 26:
Prompt: Words Coined by Shakespeare Poem
Guest Judge: Helene Cardona

Day 27:
Prompt: Looking Back Poem
Guest Judge: Okla Elliott

Day 28:
Prompt: Matter and/or Anti-Matter Poem
Guest Judge: Eduardo C. Corral

Day 29:
Prompt: What Nobody Knows Poem
Guest Judge: Marge Piercy

Day 30:
Prompt: “Bury the (blank)” Poem
Guest Judge: Jessie Carty

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Congratulations to all the winners! And congratulations to everyone in the Top 10 lists!

We actually had more participation this year than in 2014 with nearly 27,000 comments when the poems were pulled for each day, which comes out to an average of nearly 900 comments per day with the highest being Day 2 (1,374 comments) and lowest being Day 16 (701 comments). In other words, it’s quite an accomplishment to make any day’s Top 10 list.

This year, I had some screening readers who helped narrow down the poems on many of the days for me. I’d like to thank Faith Owen, Linda Hofke, Barton Smock, Veronica Noechel, James Von Hendy, Joanne Clarkson, Bruce Niedt, Sara Diane Doyle, Vivian Wagner, Daniel Ari, Linda Hatton, Joseph Harker, Jerusha Rodgers, Nurit Israeli, Barb Peters, Nancy Posey, Kimberly Gladman Jackson, Amy Miller, Ina Roy-Faderman, and Deborah Hauser. Thank you so much!

If it weren’t for you, these results would be even further delayed. By the way, if you haven’t already, check out Daniel Ari’s article on reading poems for the challenge here. It’s very insightful, and I know I’ve grown a lot from the process of reading the poems written by others.

I will continue adding winners and Top 10 lists as they filter in to me. Also, I’m still figuring out Poet Laureate and top poet nods, but I will make a note about those in future updates as well.

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Poem Your Heart Out, Volume 2

Poem Your Heart Out again!

The prompts from last year’s challenge along with the winning poem from each day ended up in an inspired little anthology titled Poem Your Heart Out. It was part prompt book, part poetry anthology, and part workbook, because each day includes a few pages for you to make your own contributions.

Anyway, the anthology worked out so well that we’re doing it again this year. Get a copy for yourself, share a copy with friends and family. Use it to find inspiration and make your bookshelves a little more poetic.

Click to continue.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems.

Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.

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Gavin Bennett's Blog

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

2015 April PAD Challenge: Results

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