Winners- Nov/Dec Poems of the Month

After a brief hiatus, I am pleased to announce that the winning Readers’ Choice poem from the poll is:

Lawrence – by Robert Ford

Robert will receive the usual winner’s mug, and thanks to everyone who voted.

The Editor’s choice was selected by Strix editor Ian Harker and he picked out

The Body Wishes it Could Remain in its Own Palace – by Nome Emeka Patrick

It’s a fine choice, a poem perhaps a little different to the normal AoO ‘style’, and the first poem we have ever published from an African writer.

Ian had these comments to make.

“This poem is circular, almost. By the time the first stanza comes round again, re-manifests in the last stanza, it has changed slightly, but the change reinforces, re-asserts the opening stanza. The beginning pre-supposes the end, contains and creates it. And in the mean-time, the poem expands, conracts, surrounds us with wounds and hearts, winged birds, cities and ache and burning and drowning, but all this happens as part of the pattern, it makes me think that the world is a cosmos not chaos. Death is there (“rot & feathers”) along with love (“…once you were a firefly & you danced out of your mother…”) but that’s part of the pattern too, unavoidably. This is a dazzling poem that frightens and reassures all at the same time.”

Congratulations to both our winners.

Editorial – News and Update

The Chief Editor has been indisposed due to circumstances beyond his control and there has been a delay in the processing of the submissions during the window ended 15th January.

This work has now been completed by Nick and Alicia, the co-editors, and it is likely no bad thing that the other guy has not had an influence on the final selection this time round. Change is as good as a rest.

• Email responses to submissions in that window will be coming out over the course of the next week.
• Remaining poems that were slated for January publication will re-commence shortly.
• The latest batch of accepted poems will be published mainly in March, maybe a few drifting into April.
• We anticipate that submissions in the current window that ends on February 28th will be dealt with according to usual process, and we expect responses to those to be forthcoming by mid-March.