Forward/emagazine Creative Critics 2020 – Results

Barbara Bleiman and Lucy Webster, emagazine editors

We had a bumper crop of entries this year, of an exceptionally high standard. Students were inspired by a wide range of poems and wrote with commitment, energy and a high degree of skill. For many, this seemed like part of their longer journey in discovering a poetic voice rather than a one-off and we were extremely impressed by the crafting, confidence and power of their writing. They seemed as if they had something important to say. The commentaries, once again, showed how writing a poem of your own can take you further into the original text. It is a strong argument for this kind of work in English A Level classrooms.

We shortlisted 12 entries, which we sent to Julia Copus to make a final decision on the winner and runners-up.

Julia Copus' comments

There was something to discover in each one of these brilliant shortlisted entries. I was deeply impressed not only by the ingenuity and range of the poems but by the erudition of the accompanying commentaries. In the best entries, the commentaries shed light on both the model poems and the newly minted responses. But in the end, a poem must also stand on its own feet. Each of the top three poems does just that, and each has its own distinct note. These are poems in which thought process, imagery and rhythm are sustained right the way to the end; poems which – importantly – end as strongly as they began. I’d like to pass on my congratulations to the authors of the shortlisted and commended poems, but also to everyone who entered. The overall standard was extremely high and the maturity and sophistication of this shortlist suggests that our poetic future is in safe hands.