Tamba Magazine Poetry Competition
Tamba Poetry Competition 2022
Winners:
1st. Bill Cotter The Maker of Fire
2nd Bill Cotter Revisiting Mallacoota
3rd Bernadette Anderson Brown Paper Bag
Highly Commended:
Laurie Smith A Day in New Norcia, circa 1969
Jan Napier Wagtail Theatre
Bernadette Anderson Cat Flying High
Commended:
Bill Cotter From the Garden Path
Kate Maxwell We Don’t Live in a Tent
From the President
In 2021 the editor of Tamba Magazine received an unexpected and very generous offer from a Tamba contributor and supporter who wished to donate funds to be used as prize money in a Tamba Poetry Competition. This wonderful person has elected to remain anonymous however we wish to celebrate their generosity and thus explain how the seeds for this competition came about. We received an astounding number of entries – 110 – which is awesome for a new and unknown competition in a small, regional literary magazine. We applaud each and every entrant for taking the time to construct and submit what was a very high standard of writing overall. Thanks too, to our judges, Pat Patt (former Tamba editor) and Brendan Darveniza (current Tamba editor). All judging is done ‘blind’ – the judges have no idea of who the entries belong to, they simply get a numbered poem to judge. Their job was quite difficult given the great quality of so many of the entries. We have enjoyed this process and are delighted to be able to announce the placegetters and look forward to publishing the winning entries in Tamba very soon.
Robyn Black
From the Judges
The Goulburn Valley Writers’ Group Inc. was elated with the response to the first ever Tamba Poetry Competition (2022), receiving 110 entries. The standard of writing was very high, and the poems covered an excellent range of subjects, with most fulfilling the criteria of an uplifting or inspirational poem.
The winning poems were meticulously constructed and easy to read, creating vivid word pictures. They demonstrated the capacity to create a scene and follow it through with effective word-craft. Each filled the judges with delight.
Several entries took an innovative and skilled approach to common topics, lifting the poems from the everyday to the memorable. Others chose more unusual subjects, taking the readers into unfamiliar places and experiences.
In a competition with a 60-line limit, the judges felt that, although a well-crafted shorter poem was not rejected because of its length, a more substantial poem gave more opportunity to create a favourable impression and demonstrate the poet’s skill.
The overall quality of the entries was remarkable and made the final decisions quite a difficult job for the judges. We applaud all who took the time to enter this competition and we look forward to printing the winning entries in an upcoming issue of Tamba Magazine.
Brendan Darveniza and Pat Patt