2016 Toolangi C. J. Dennis Written Poetry Competition

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Stephen Whiteside
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2016 Toolangi C. J. Dennis Written Poetry Competition

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:25 am

Here are the results of the 2016 Toolangi C. J. Dennis Written Poetry Competition.


Adult Open

First Prize - Golden Wedding (Shelley Hansen)
Second Prize - From Gallipoli With Love (Tom McIlveen)
Third Prize - Bobby's Return (Tom McIlveen)


Open Themed - 'a poem inspired by "The Moods of Ginger Mick"'

First Prize - Dear Rose (David Campbell)
Second Prize - Blarst the Flamin' War (Shelley Hansen)
Third Prize - The Ghost of Ginger Mick (Stephen Whiteside)


Adults Writing for Children (as judged by an adult)

First Prize - Grandma's Party (Graham Watt)
Second Prize - A Scarf and a Half (Jenny Erlanger)
Third Prize - The Bin Brigade (Jenny Erlanger)
Highly Commended - Toolangi Pie (David Campbell)
Highly Commended - My Teddy and I (Shelley Hansen)
Highly Commended - The Day the Clock Stopped (Stephanie M. Ward)
Highly Commended - My Little Brother (Wendy Seddon)
Highly Commended - Noses (Peter O'Shauhnessy)


Adults Writing for Children (as judged by children)

First Prize - Toolangi Pie (David Campbell)
Second Prize - My Teddy and I (Shelley Hansen)
Third Prize - The REAL Reason I Don't Brush My Teeth (Stephen Whiteside)


Poems by Children in Secondary School

First Prize - Classroom (Sebastian Brooker)
Second Prize - Flames Always Burn (Tiarne Guyatt)
Third Prize - The Love of the Sea (Tiarne Guyatt)


Poems by Children in Primary School

First Prize - My Grandpa (Isabella Wallace)
Second Prize - The Brumby (Gabriella Manifold)
Third Prize - The Wackergonginee (Lily Dracopoulos)


Congratulations to all the winners!
Last edited by Stephen Whiteside on Thu Nov 03, 2016 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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Shelley Hansen
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Re: 2016 Toolangi C. J. Dennis Written Poetry Competition

Post by Shelley Hansen » Thu Oct 27, 2016 7:01 am

Thank you Stephen!

I am absolutely thrilled, delighted, and somewhat amazed to have been judged worthy of mention in all three sections, by both adults and kids.

This is such a great competition as it provides such scope for variety across its categories. And for me, a dyed-in-the-wool CJ Dennis devotee, it is an unmissable chance to "channel" one of my favourite poets without seeming to be in copycat mode!

Congratulations to you, David, Tom and all the other winners! It's an honour to feature beside all of you on the winners' list. How lovely to see young Isabella winning again - I remember her well from when we visited last year.

Special congratulations to you too Wendy, for your success in the children's poem section.

Cheers
Shelley
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: 2016 Toolangi C. J. Dennis Written Poetry Competition

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Thu Oct 27, 2016 9:45 am

Thanks, Shelley.

Yes, I think it is a great competition - though I am biased, of course!

Disappointingly, though, entries have been down the last couple of years. We are not sure why. Any thoughts?
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
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Shelley Hansen
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Re: 2016 Toolangi C. J. Dennis Written Poetry Competition

Post by Shelley Hansen » Thu Oct 27, 2016 10:08 am

Hi Stephen

No, I can't imagine why, and I'm quite amazed to hear that. The prize money is good and there is the added bonus of having the winners published in the yearly book - so it should attract plenty of interest. It is well-publicised here and on social media.

There are enough sections to cater for diverse styles and structures of poetry - and as CJ wrote in many different styles himself, there is no need for entrants to be limited in their approach. Then the "adults writing for children" section may bring in entries from a different cross-section of poets - some of whom may write only for children. I think the introduction of having children as well as adults judge this section has been a really good thing.

I like the fact that the primary and secondary sections are separated in the junior categories too - so you don't have seven year olds competing against seventeen year olds.

I seem to recall numbers were down in the Bush Lantern this year too - although Glenny said numbers were up for the Copper Croc. I believe Ipswich was about the same as usual - it is always well supported. The Adelaide Plains competition is for open poetry, and I know numbers were down for it this year. It would be interesting to see the comparative stats for all the competitions over the past couple of years.

I don't know how other poets approach these competitions - but with most of them I choose a poem from my reservoir of recent work. In other words, I don't specifically write for each competition. However, the Toolangi competition is an exception - I suppose because the poems are required to reflect the influence of CJ Dennis in some way. I always write specifically for this competition - and I begin thinking about the next year's comp as soon as the current one is over.

Could that be a factor with some - that they simply don't have anything suitable by the time of competition closing? Just a guess - but if they haven't planned ahead, it might not be so easy to select something from the poems they have on hand. I'm not suggesting you change the criteria - it is completely appropriate for the competition - but just searching for a possible reason for the reduced entry numbers.

By the way - has the theme of next year's festival been decided yet? I believe CJ published both The Glugs of Gosh and Doreen in 2017 - is that right? Plenty of scope there! :D

Cheers
Shelley
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

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