Poetry Prize 2011

Comments by Peter Boyle & MTC Cronin

First Prize ($10,000) ‘The loophole or how the sky ignores us’ by Maria Zajkowski, Victoria
With great attentiveness to the nuances of language and the metaphysics they might imply, Maria Zajkowski uses poetry to haunt and to query, to play with the edges of experiences in a way that is far more than playful. Attuned to the force of simple clear words and the darknesses they bring with them, her poetry avoids recounting or preaching but instead opens up space. One can feel in this small, but significant, sample of poems the frisson of poetic engagement with life's unknowables.

Second Prize ($5,000) ‘And then when the’ by Dan Disney, Victoria
Concise, witty, pointillistic, these poems like beautifully crafted miniatures span a great cross-section of places and worlds. Dan Disney marvelously conveys the kaleidoscope of times, cultures and narratives along with the speed and interconnectedness that is the 21st century. Transcending their starting point as postcards in poetry, these observant, tightly condensed poems offer the reader surprise and a space for reflection, pointing towards the gap between outward hyper-modernity and moral savagery.

Commended ($2,500) ‘Please’ by Kristen Lang, Tasmania
Kristen Lang's poem Please is a sensuous and evocative poem, moving between an imaginary transformation into a butterfly and the experience of love. The poem skillfully traverses such transformations, with a freshness and immediacy of voice that convinces.

Commended ($2,500) ‘Philosophy in a Ghosting Universe’ by Rhyll McMaster, New South Wales
This series of seven poems bravely tackles life, the universe and everything. Original and unafraid of the grand statement, the pieces succeed in doing what poetry should do and does best: make us think and refuse to let us do otherwise. Their humour and wit is the very tasty icing on the cake.