I am delighted to be now in a position to announce the shortlists for this website's Best Poem and Best Collection awards for 2012.
Since their inception, these awards have found their own very obscure place in the poetry community. Untainted by prize-money, they bring with them for the winners only the knowledge and satisfaction that their work was appreciated by me. And anybody who has been following The Saturday Nap feature here will understand why there isn't likely to be anything as tawdry as a cash prize any time soon.
It is a particularly difficult honour to achieve because first of all the work needs to have been read by me, which means it has to have been noticed by me and subsequently considered worthy of my attention. Only then can it be compared with the other candidates and prove its ultimate worth.
The winners will be announced in a couple of weeks' time. The shortlists under consideration for the time being are,
Best Poem
Kate Bingham, Open, from the Forward anthology
Julia Copus, Stars Moving Westwards in a Winter Garden, from The World's Two Smallest Humans
James Fenton, Cosmology, from Yellow Tulips
Chris Preddle, Sharpnosed Fish, from South 45
Jane Yeh, The Body in the Library, from The Ninjas
Best Collection
Julia Copus, The World's Two Smallest Humans.
And, yes, that is a shortlist of one so the announcement of the winner of that category isn't going to be very exciting. I could have made a game of it by including the Fenton and Yeh books but I like to think that anything shortlisted is a serious candidate for the prize and in this case the conclusion is foregone.
Those observers who remain keen on monitoring the gender balance of those successful in the poetry world will be able to note that 60% of the Best Poem shortlist are female as well as 100% of the Best Collection. I don't think this indicates a crisis in the state of poetry written by men. In fact, it is of no relevance whatsoever.
I have collated a list of previous winners, for my own benefit as much as anything.
Best Poem
2011 Martin Mooney, Dream of the Fisherman's Wife
2010 Paul Muldoon, The Fish Ladder
2009 Don Paterson, The Day
Best Collection
2011 David Harsent, Night
2010 Lachlan MacKinnon, Small Hours