Well I don’t often write poems that could be classified at ‘nature’ poems – I mean I have plenty of trees and birds, but who doesn’t – so it was a surprise that I had something to send in for the Robert Gray Prize.
It’s the second year for the Robert Gray Prize, run by Five Islands Press, “The theme of the Robert Gray Prize is taken from the title of a poem of Robert’s that first appeared in Nameless Earth: “A poem of not more than forty lines on the subject of nature.” Take whatever approach you like to “the subject of nature,” and employ any form.” Open enough for me to sneak in my poem Song for a Geologist, which is all about rocks, fathers, deep time, and sharing a table with good people.
Really pleased that the poem resonated with the judges: Judith Nangala Crispin, Tegan Gigante and Gareth Sion Jenkins! From the 440+ entries they selected five commended poems, Song for a Geologist was one of them. Here’s the citation from the judges report:
“Here a loving tribute to a father that speaks, dreams and listens to the deep time of the earth and the present moment of a shared meal. We find the delicate interconnectedness of earth, animal and body rendered with evocative detail: “his voice is cooled magma”; “Mesozoic rainforests curl from his brow”. The poem carries us across expansive, gently shifting geological landscapes to finally arrive at the restful, intimate setting of a shared table. Here we are again reminded of a deep interconnection, where “each moment carries a future, time and pressure give everything a second life.
This week there was an online ceremony/reading to announce the winner. It was great to hear all the other commended poems. Congratulations to all the shortlist poets! I’m looking forward to the publication of Oystercatcher 3, due out next year, which will contain all the shortlisted poems. Particular congratulations to the other commended poets: Linda McQuarrie-Bowerman, Nigeen Dara, Stephen Edgar, Wes Lee and the winner Kirwan Henry (Anita Liyanage).
And, if you made it this far…here’s the first stanza from Song for a Geologist…
My father
carries a bag of fossils, a hammer with a pointed tip; he believes
deep time is the most sincere religion. His church is fado
in desert wind, sediment folded under a mountain.
The untrained think rocks are riddles, but he hears
their weather-beaten story. His voice is cooled magma,
the chorus of Stardust falls from his lips as he maps history
from an escarpment’s incline and the iron oxide in a ripple.
Keep an eye out for Oystercatcher 3 when it’s released next year!
