THE JUDGING PANEL 2020

TIM SAUNDERS

2018 MiNDFOOD Short Story Competition Winner Tim Saunders farms sheep and beef near Palmerston North. He performs poetry as part of The Rouseabouts, a trio of poets and musicians, and has had poetry and short stories published in Turbine|Kapohau, takahē, Landfall, Poetry NZ Yearbook and Flash Frontier. He won the 2018 MiNDFOOD Short Story Competition, and placed third in both the 2019 and 2020 National Flash Fiction Day Awards. He also won the 2020 Cooney Insurance Short Story Competition. His book, This Farming Life, was published by Allen & Unwin in August, 2020.

TIM SAYS OF RE-MADE:

Re-Made by Jules Badger is original and bold, and really captures the heart and soul of great poetry. The poet shows an understanding of the beauty of form as well as language – the poem looks great on paper, but also shows an attention to detail in terms of word choice and story. The poem is intricate and fragile, clever and tender. Deceptively simple, it draws together words and ideas and stitches them together as we read, forming a lacework of themes. The poet has shown a beautiful control of language that touches the reader’s heart, surprises us and takes us on a journey – all things truly great poems should do. The imagery is outstanding, and has stuck in my head ever since I first read this poem. I can’t wait to read more.

GILL CANNING

MiNDFOOD Senior Sub-Editor/ Writer Gill Canning has worked in publishing for over 25 years as a writer and editor in Australia and the UK. She has a B.A. in English & European Languages from the University of Sydney; and a B.Ed. in English, Italian & French from Charles Sturt University. She had her first poem published at the age of 10 and still lives in hope of writing a novel one day.

GILL SAYS OF RE-MADE:

Among the dozens of entries we received during the first month of our newly launched poetry competition back in September 2019, Jules Badger stood out as a confident new voice with something important and relevant to say. Her poem about resilience is even more topical in today’s turbulent times than it was 12 months ago. The subject of her poem has been torn and broken in the past – however this damaged being, perfectly described as “like lovely old lace disintegrating over time” is also portrayed as possessing hidden fortitude, like a “strong pulse in a wrist scarred with old pain”. The poem’s final sentiment: “This time she will hold together” ultimately leaves us with a sense of confidence, optimism and solidarity. Like all good poetry, Re-Made contains enough detail for a reader to be moved and to relate to the poem, yet is not so particular in its detail that we can’t each take away our own interpretation and understanding of the poet’s intent. A worthy winner for 2020.