Judge: Emmett Wheatfall
Emmett Wheatfall lives in Portland, Oregon. He is a two-time nominee for Oregon Poet Laureate and the recipient of the prestigious 2024 Oregon Poetry Association Patricia Ruth Banta Award. Emmett has served as the keynote speaker at two Oregon Poetry Association Annual Conferences and many other conferences and workshops. In 2020, Corban University produced a nine-part documentary highlighting Emmett’s life and his introduction to poetry.
OVERALL COMMENTS
Judging the OPA National Poetry Month contest (for members only) was like reading a really good anthology loaded with such wonderful poems. The vast array of subjects; from missives, elegy, nature, ecology, narrative, dialogue and a host of other themes comprised the submissions. For this judge, the diversity of poetic works enlightened him in many regards. Thank you to the OPA community of poets for the honor and privilege of judging your poetic works.
APPROACH
To be asked to judge a poetry contest is an honor. Submissions by poets represent the best they have to offer. It is incumbent upon the judge to offer a fair and honest evaluation. To ensure both, here is the methodology I employed:
#1. Does the title of the poem capture my attention? It must speak for itself and summon me to ponder it. Metaphorically speaking, it strikes a pose. It stands alone in and by itself. I am then led to believe I should read the poem.
#2. Do the opening lines augment the title. Working in conjunction with each other motivates my curiosity to want to know more about what the poem wants to say in terms of theme, metaphor, analogy, and or inspiration. The poem must strike me as memorable.
#3. How does the poem end? Does the last line or lines state the poem’s essence or certify the sentiment conveyed? It is like the taste of tannin left on the tongue from taste a fine wine.
The poems selected as finalists and the winner of this contest were judged using this criterion.
First Place Winning Poem – by Ann Heath
Ann Heath is working as a therapist in Salem Oregon. Attended St. Louis University as an English major but then received a master’s in social work at U. of Missouri. Currently she has a private counseling practice. She wrote poetry when she was younger, recently joined Salem Poetry Project, and has been inspired to rework some poems written years ago.
Mary Magdalene has Second Thoughts about Jesus
I thank the surrogate lovers
who stood at the door
after you left.
Confident I’d fall
into old ways,
they laughed,
pouring wine,
and pulled me
onto my bed.
For,
with them,
I remembered
(coming again)
a time when there was
only a crowd
with stones.
JUDGE COMMENTS
Full disclosure: I am familiar with the Biblical narrative regarding Mary Magdalene. She was a follower of the person called Jesus the Christ.
Mary Magdalene was a woman from whom the Bible says seven demons had been cast out. There is no Biblical text suggesting she was an immoral woman. Mary Magdalene, accompanied by a woman named Mary, is the first person to see the resurrected Jesus, and thus proclaimed it to Christ’s disciples.
#1. To suggest Mary Magdalene, a follower of Jesus and witness to his resurrection, experienced second thoughts about, I assume, his Divinity summoned my attention. The title itself conjured up a plethora of questions. This is exactly what a poem should do. It strikes a pose. It stands alone in and by itself. I was led to believe I should read the poem.
#2. As specified in my approach, the opening lines augment the title.
I thank the surrogate lovers / who stood at the door / after you left.
These opening lines and line breaks are written in poetic form. This too induces curiosity given there is no Biblical text asserting Mary Magdalene was an immoral woman. The line breaks are beautifully constructed in the framework of page. Thus, I was inspired to pursue the meaning of the poem and the amplification of both title and opening lines.
While I chose not to question or authenticate the point of the poem, I respect the right of the poet to say what poetic inspiration dictated. The body of the poem is a concise poetic pursuit and speaks of Mary Magdalene’s experience. I am left to ponder why she would have doubts about Jesus and appreciate being left with that conundrum. There are times when such conundrum is well served poetically.
#3. The following lines do a fantastic job summing up the poem.
I remembered / (coming again) /
a time when there was / only a crowd / with stones
The Old Testament purports to require a woman caught in an adulterous act or relationship should be put to death by stoning. This judge intuits the notion Jesus visited Mary Magdalene but did not engage in an immoral act with her; thus creating doubt about him. This is an assumption. Only the writer of this poem can provide an answer.
SECOND PLACE WINNING POEM – by Sherri Levine
Sherri Levine is a poet, mental health advocate, educator, and squirrel lover living in Portland, Oregon. Her books include: Stealing Flowers from the Neighbors (Kelsay Press, 2021) which was chosen as a national book club choice for Alzheimer’s Authors. A Joy to See (Just a Lark Books, 2023) is an ekphrastic poetry book celebrating her late mother’s art. I Remember Not Sleeping (Fernwood Press, 2024) is deliciated to those who suffer from mental illness.
Reckoning
for Dan
He struggles to speak, to move his body, to open his eyes
like a moth struggling to escape its own
casing, its wings weakened, its body collapsing
into itself.
This reckoning, an unrising:
It will never fly.
I cannot pry open the cocoon
with a pin.
How can I help his rumbling,
the lowest part of low,
the wrestling of emotions?
But he is not a moth.
He is a man.
And how will he escape to freedom
when he resists my touch on his arm,
a kiss on his forehead when I bend down
to cradle his head?
He punches the air with his
one good fist and growls.
JUDGE COMMENTS
This is a beautiful poem. Its title arouses interest by denoting a sense of something ominous. What a great title to poke curiosity. He struggles to speak, to move his body immediately lets the reader know this may be a health-related matter. In addition, how does “Reckoning” relate to a health challenge?
The poem Reckoning does a wonderful job interlacing the concrete with the abstract, metaphors and analogies. They give the mind an opportunity to consider points and statements in a light better suited for understanding. The choice to do so is outstanding, given the subject and subsequent experience expressed in the poem. If written as an elegy, the heart would be stirred with lamentation.
THIRD PLACE WINNING POEM – by Doug Stone
Doug Stone lives in Albany, Oregon. He has written two chapbooks, The Season of Distress and Clarity and The Moon’s Soul Shimmering on the Water. His latest book of poems, Sitting in Powell’s Watching Burnside Dissolve in Rain (The Poetry Box) came out in 2020.
October Snow in the Foothills of the Coast Range
Thinking of Clem Stark
October is the start of our long season of rain.
But overnight snow disturbed the order of things
Until morning began to stir out of her cold dream.
Yo watched her conjure up first light to chase off
the last flurries and rouse the foothills awake.
Now sunlight creeps around your bird feeder where
a rufous-sided towhee sings, its song so joyful,
the frigid air grieves for the sounds of summer.
October in these foothills is like playing
a game of chess. Sometimes its gambits give
you the gift of moves you never saw coming.
This rare October snow and the joy of that towhee
remind you: It’s time to consider all your moves
as you sip your cup of coffee on the veranda
and begin to craft a new poem in your head.
JUDGE COMMENTS
The elongated title appears enticing. “the foothills” accentuates the coast range, sharpening the visual. It presents a light and nice touch to the title. Mentioning a beloved poet in the epigraph may signal an attempt to play off the poet’s name, but Clem Stark might enjoy the title given his wide and vast professional work-life. If I recall, Clem Stark played chess. Having lived and worked in Europe, Clem surely played the game of chess. This poem gives the reader vivid imagery of ecology and nature. Two stanzas feel right and complete for the reader to envision its imagery. To end the poem describing a sip of coffee and authoring a new poem—no poem can fail when doing so.