The final judging stages of the York Literature Festival / YorkMix Poetry Competition are under way.
When entries closed last weekend, a total of 984 poems had been submitted by 427 different poets from throughout the British Isles.
After long hours of reading, re-reading, and re-re-reading the entries, our judge, Carole Bromley, YorkMix‘s poet in residence, has selected her longlist of poems.
A total of 121 titles have made it to Carole’s longlist, including 25 poems from authors within ‘YO’ postcode areas.
These poems will be whittled down, approximately by half, to a shortlist which will appear in YorkMix next weekend.
The winners – including the overall winner who will receive a prize of £500 – will be announced at the prize-giving event at The Black Swan, Peasholme Green on March 19.
After publication of the shortlist, prizewinners, highly commended and commended poets will be contacted by the organisers by email.
Here are the titles of the poems selected for the 2016 longlist. The letter Y in brackets after some titles denotes that the entry is also eligible for the York Prize.
The 2016 longlist
A-C
A Brief Interlude In The Sahara
A March On Westminster
A Marriage
A New Use For Dust
A Slight Correction
All The Dead Voices
Another Year
Archie
At The Italian
Badminton
Before Dark (Y)
Bird Watching In Australia
Bothering Sam (Y)
Bumper Cars (Y)
Car Bomb
Christmas Shopping, Saturday Dec 12th (Y)
Clough House (Y)
Come With Me
Coming On Strong
Curnow
D-G
Day Shift
Dock Of The Bay
Dressing For Darts
Empires
End Of The Argument
Epic
Epithalamium
Et In Arcadia Ego
Études, 1957
Flounder
For Daniela, Who Is Learning Reflexology
For Remembrance
Frank: Morris Dancer, Rear Gunner
Gather (Y)
Getting To Know My Grandfather (Y)
Ginger
(Grandpa shows him) How To Do A Jigsaw (Y)
H-L
His Most Famous Women
Hogwash
Hospice
Hotel d’Alacant
How To Fly Kites On Wordless Days
I Gave Up Hope For Lent
I Never Thought Of My Father Dancing (Y)
I Thought I’d Write Your Eulogy Before You Died (Y)
I Touch Her Arm With Trepidation
In Their Red Boats And Yellow Jackets (Y)
Inkwell
It’s The Backs Of Things
Job Description Gallery Assistant Museum Of Islamic Art
Late Home After Latin
Late Lunch
Leaving (first line: I live alone…)
Liberation, Jettisoning Environmental Qualms (Y)
Life Support (Y)
Lovely and Drunk
Lutyens On Jekyll
M-R
Mary Bateman’s Lament
Miner
Missing You
Moorhen (Y)
Moorings
Mouse Death
Mushrooms And Meteors Yorkshire 2015 (Y)
My Brother’s Rucksack
Normal Sally
Our Girls Tip Top Annual
Ouse Son Of Yore (Y)
Please Drink Responsibly (Y)
Pomona in Namibia
Poppy Field Refugees
Porridge (first line: I like mine hot )
Revival
Robin
S
Sarah’s Character
Sea is for Circe
Second Childhood
Self Certificate Laryngitis
Self-Portrait With Hummingbirds
79 Portraits And 2 Still Lifes
Severe Weather Warning (Y)
Sexton Beetle
Shorthand
Snow White Baby
So Few Pearls
Something (Y)
Sorrow Coat (Y)
St Ives/Porthmeor 1953
St Lucie’s Day
Stilt Walking The Tyne
T-Y
The Artist Teaches Himself To Paint Grief
The Fishwife’s Lament
The Grass Is Very Green (Y)
The Making Of Gritstone
The Raven Speaks
The Real World
The Slack-Jawed Girls
The Waiting Room
The Wig Keeper’s Storeroom
Turn Of The Year
Unnatural Causes
Vice Admiral
We Caught Up With Former Empress of York, Julia Severus (Y)
Welcome To Scarborough YHA
White These Coats & Warm Air Soaring
Wolf
Workshop With Under Fives
Wren
Your Orange Raincoat
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