Winning poems

Here are the winning poems from our inaugural poetry competition. The first prize winner used all the words supplied by the audience at our launch.


Think, Swallow, Catapult – Diving into the imperial Castlemaine Word Mine


Arriving late for the event, frittering,
yet balanced on the periphery
of the ovate crepuscular rays
shimmering effervescent and erotic
beyond the church steeple,
the pernickety, curmudgeon of a traveler,
feeling as old as a digger, a grandfather
- frenetic, savage, merging with a clatter
and little grace with the crowd - expected what?
Conspiricism, procrastination,
poppycock, generosity?
A sottisier, madrigal or melisma?
To scrabble, scamper and delve
into the greatness of the goulash
garden of obscenity?
Or memorise the multiplicity
of an omphalopsychotic caricature,
the prestidigitation
of original word mining?
Watching, astounded,
at the evocation, a veritable samsara,
of sesquipedalian virtuosity,
our traveler was fired up
to quench her thirst
for the fun, mystery and honesty
of the palimpsest
at the launch of our very own Word Mine.


Evelyn Jackson




AFTER THE EVENT


Before,
It was as though everything
On the periphery
Of what I call my life
Seemed nothing more than frittering
Nothing more than filling in time.
Sitting,
Watching,
Waiting.

Nothing more than procrastination.

Then I saw a point,
Finally
Beyond the everyday
And, astounded
I dared to believe
That what was in front of me
Was real,
Is real.

It is not greatness I seek,
Merely a garden
Where love, grace and generosity
Merge with each other
Changing the world around us
Giving us cause
To understand each other
Trust one another,
And cease to be the traveller
Searching for something
That was there all the time.


Christine King

First Meeting

Despite the stormy weather on Wednesday night about 40 people turned up for our first meeting. We now have a committee: Terry Jaensch, Cath James, Lisa D'Onofrio, Dick Mack, Adam Ford and Ann de Hugard. The winner of the poetry competition is Evelyn Jackson and runner-up, Christine King. There were some wonderfully original takes on the idea. Evelyn managed to use all the words on the list and still create a poem that made sense.
I will be writing in the Word Mine this coming Tuesday, 10am - 2pm. If you'd like to join me please drop in.

Last two days

The poetry competition ends this Saturday at midnight. So if you have a poem to submit using at least 10 words from the word list please send it to me via email. The pile is growing and there are some wonderfully ingenuous examples of word usage. Carmel Bird will judge the competition.

Post Launch - and that list

Thank you to everyone who came to yesterday's launch, and to the people who worked behind the scenes to make it such a huge success. We had around 80 participants and many apologies. And we raised around $900 towards refurbishment of the room. Don't forget if you would like to contribute Persian rugs, original old masters,priceless illuminated manuscripts please get in touch!
And here is the list of words provided by members of the audience. You are invited to chose at least 10 of these words and create a marvelous poem. It's wonderful to see such complex and varied words. What an intelligent lot you are! When you have ceased from your exploration of the Macquarie or Oxford please send your creation to anndeh@bigpond.com . The steering committee will then have the arduous task of selecting a winner. 1st prize a year's membership of CWM and a bottle of grog. The name of the winner will announced at the gathering on the 28th September.

Now here's the list with original spelling (unless spell check has been at work:
1. steeple
2. garden
3. effervescent
4. obscenity
5. ovate
6. beyond
7. memorise
8. madrigal
9. greatness
10. swallow
11. watching
12. astounded
13. shimmering
14. imperial
15. frenetic
16. samsara
17. honesty
18. periphery
19. butterfingers
20. clatter
21. quench
22. frittering
23. virtuosity
24. sotisier
25. digger
26. grandfather
27. pernickety
28. savage
29. erotic
30. prestidigitation
31. multiplicity
32. catapult
33. goulash
34. grace
35. conspiracism
36. merging
37. caricature
38. bugger
39. curmudgeon
40. traveller
41. crepuscular
42. scrabble
43. event
44. fun
45. procrastination
46. appendix
47. good
48. sesquipedalian
49. balanced
50. poppycock
51. evocation
52. scamper
53. delve
54. omphalopsychotic (sychite)
55. think
56. mystery
57. generosity
58. palimpsest
59. desolate
60. melisma

Launch Poetry Competition

When Robyn Annear launches the Word Mine she will scatter a bunch of old library cards. Everyone will be invited to pick up a card and quickly write A WORD of their choice on it.
The cards will be collected and the WORDS will be published on this blog.
People are then invited to take AT LEAST 10 of the words in order to create a poem. Words may be repeated.
It is OK to add a few extra words if needed, but the fewer extra words the better.
Poems are to be emailed to anndeh@bigpond.com .Make sure you include your name.
Entries close midnight September 17.
Poems will be judged by members of the steering committee.
The winner of the competition will be announced at the MEETING on September 28.
The prize will be a bottle of wine and one year's free membership of the WORD MINE.