2022 SCWC Poetry Awards & Legacies Anthology Launch
On Saturday 19 March at Coledale Community Hall, the South Coast Writers Centre hosted the 2022 SCWC Poetry Awards, and the launch of our 2021 anthology of writing: Legacies.
Hosted by Adara Enthaler and opened by poet Mark Tredinnick, who read for us his poem that is displayed on the back wall of the hall - Five Soft Nets: A Coledale Sonnet Cycle - the afternoon was filled with live readings from local writers who had contributed their poems and short stories to the anthology: Peter Ramm, Kathleen Bleakley, Myfanwy Williams, Judi Morison, Morna Seres, Adara Enthaler, Linda Godfrey, Emily Gray and Moira Kirkwood.
“We are so fortunate to have such an active and vibrant local writers’ centre and scene. The anthology is superb and its launch gathered many from near and far. It was a privilege to read with them and to enjoy the celebration of this year’s Poetry Prize. My congratulations to all of those shortlisted and my commendation for all who read and shared their poems with such grace and spirit yesterday. We were all winners for the time spent together. ”
“Thank you for such a lovely event yesterday, and thank you for the chance to have my work published in the Legacies Anthology. I read everyone’s contribution this morning and it is such a beautiful anthology, full of wonderful writing, imagery and authentic emotion. I feel privileged to be amongst it.”
Following the launch of Legacies (and a break for wine, food and book sales), several of the shortlisted poets read their poems: Lore White, Erin Shiel, Isabella Luna, Jonathan Cant, Amelia Fielden, Peter Frankis and Linda Albertson.
There were also two shortlisted poets who wished to read on the day but were unable to attend — Alisha Brown and Lakshmi Kanchi — and we were fortunate to be able to play recordings of their readings, which can be watched anytime by clicking below.
“The event had a lovely vibe to it - full of care and appreciation for all the writers. Thanks to the Centre, Wollongong Art Gallery and the judges (who’d ever want to judge a poetry competition?). It was a terrific afternoon of diverse voices ringing like bellbirds up the scarp from Coledale.”
After the readings, it was time to announce the Poetry Award winners. Unfortunately, the judges were unable to attend due to illness, including SCWC Director Sarah Nicholson, so SCWC Deputy Chair Judi Morison had the pleasure of making the winner announcements as follows:
SCWC Poetry Award Winner: Erin Shiel — Capers
SCWC Poetry Award Runner-Up: Sean West — How to Breathe Underwater
SCWC/WAG Prize Joint Winners:
(for best response to a painting in the Ways to Water exhibition)
Lore White — Big Island Gulls & Peter Frankis — Eight ways to look at an octopus
The judges had a genuinely difficult time deliberating with such a strong field of entries, as a result they decided to note two poems that they felt should be highly commended:
Jonathan Cant — Kirra Sunset and Rhian Healy — Time stands still.
“I am extremely grateful to you and to everyone involved for honouring me with the SCWC award. I know poetry competitions are so difficult to judge and every one of the poets there yesterday was a winner in all of our eyes. The event yesterday was beautiful. Adara was elegant and energising, encouraging to both the poets and the audience. We were incredibly fortunate to have Judi Morison and Mark Tredinnick in our presence. Lovely to have Peter Ramm and so many talented writers reading and sharing their finely crafted and emotionally authentic work.”
Congratulations to the winners, the shortlisted and longlisted poets, and to all the writers in the Legacies anthology (including those who didn’t read on the day: Samson J L Soulsby, Deborah Huff-Horwood, Dorothy Swoope, Kate Shelley Gilbert, Ron Pretty, Shaye Wallace, Joni Braham, Belinda Quinn, Denise O’Hagan, and Gabrielle Journey Jones).
Thank you to everyone who read their poems and short stories, to Zanny Begg for the gorgeous cover art of Legacies, Lore White & Sarah Nicholson for editing the anthology, Dr Joshua Lobb for being a Poetry Award Judge, Wollongong Art Gallery for partnering with us again on our Poetry Award and providing prizes and the theme, Adara Enthaler for hosting, and to our staff and volunteers Ygraine, Paige and Holly who helped the event run smoothly.
“The aim of the Ways to Water exhibition was to show the shared connections we have with coastal places, especially in the Illawarra and further south. All of the writers who submitted work to the competition shared with us the ways they have been shaped by the space in-between our ancient escarpment and our limitless ocean. We read about fleeting moments - sand flicked against skin, sunlight caught by rippling water - and we learned about deeper relationships - memories of childhood, generational connections, the ways our lives belong to long history of this place. It was a joy to recognise experiences we all share and also to be surprised by new encounters in this place.”
SCWC are proud to have developed a partnership with a major local cultural institution, Wollongong Art Gallery on the SCWC Poetry Award. We intend to continue this yearly prize and alongside it, a yearly anthology of writing which will publish the award winners, alongside commissioned writing and selected work from our members.
Print copies of Legacies are now available from the SCWC Website Shop for $20 + postage. Click below to purchase your own, and check out our made-to-order Legacies merch!