Announcing the Winners of the 2021 Magpie Award for Poetry!

And Now, Without Further Ado…

The winners of the 2021 Magpie Award for Poetry, with commentary from judge Renée Sarojini Saklikar: 

Winner: ‘Another True Account of the Nature of Grit and How It May be Ascertained’ by Frances Boyle

It’s the voice of a strong female lead that won it. Plus: skilled handling of line breaks and stanza construction, ensuring the imaginative narrative flowed easily. I particularly enjoyed the enjambment between stanzas — the way the lines moved between the poem’s paragraphs (stanzas), working on both grammatical and  narrative levels. The poem performs as narrative ballad, historical revue, and radio play. What a rattling great read! 

First Runner-up: ‘Recurrent Dream #79’ by David Barrick

Wonderful poem! Reminiscent of poems in John Berryman’s fabled Dream Song sequence and Stanley Kunitz’s The Testing Tree — high praise indeed. One stanza, five perfectly balanced sentences constructed over twenty-seven lines. Impeccable grammar and precise line breaks. I loved how the first line neatly frames the question posed in the last line, and the way the title itself embeds the answer. Not to mention the gorgeous imagery. 

Second Runner-up: ‘Mammal Mouth (Linaria Vulgaris)’ by Aldona Dziedziejko

A strange poem — one of the highest compliments — filled with fantastical images and interesting line breaks coupled with strong verbs and lush sound.

Honourable Mention: ‘Vessel’ by Cara Waterfall

Wonderful couplets and a strong rhythmic pulse. This is a poem of delicate grace. 

Thank you to Renée Sarojini Saklikar, our esteemed judge, for once again lending her time and talent to the Magpies, and to our poetry editors Emily Osborne and Daniel Cowper for selecting the shortlist. The winner and runners-up will make their appearance in Issue 32, Autumn 2021.

And for those of you feeling inspired to put your own words to paper or pixel, the Hummingbird Flash Fiction Prize is open now until June 15.

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Renée Sarojini Saklikar (Surrey Poet Laureate, 2015–2018) is the author of three books and six chapbooks. Her work has been adapted for opera and visual art. Bramah and The Beggar Boy, Renée’s first book in her epic fantasy series, launches July 17. Find out more at thecanadaproject.wordpress.com.