We are delighted to announce the winner and the runners up for the 2022 Three Trees Portfolio Award.
Congratulations to Lisa Blackwell whose collection, How it will happen will be published as a Three Trees edition later this year.
Described by our team as a compelling and memorable set of prose poems that explore various formative experiences across several years. This collection is emotionally engaging, giving a sense of deeply felt experience. Shocking, brutal, darkly-funny and tender, the voice of the poems is authentic and personal.
Shortlisted Poets:
Hannah Stone and Mandy Pannett
Longlisted Poets:
Isabel Bermudez, Pauline Rowe, Susan Clark, Sue Wallace-Shaddad, Alex Josephy, Sharon Phillips and Ama Bolton.
A note from one of our editors.
What was I looking for?
I read poetry in the hope of being surprised, informed, impressed, entertained and moved. Sometimes a single poem has one or more of these attributes. I enjoy poems which have a sense of rhythm and musicality, poems with line breaks and white space that is working in the service of the poem. I enjoy a willingness to experiment with different forms, always guided by the poem’s theme, subject or narrative content. When reading a pamphlet, the parts often add up to something that builds and coheres and leaves a lasting impression. I was delighted to find this was the case with all the longlisted pamphlets. Not only was a great deal of technical ability on display, but it was also clear that each poet had thought carefully about how the poems might work together. I hope that all the longlisted poets can take encouragement from the fact that the quality of the work made this choice a difficult one.
In the end I decided on a set of poems that were arresting, poems that took me into the poet’s world. The ‘voice’ of these poems is candid, consistent, and compelling. I felt an emotional connection through these poems, and they gave me a striking and memorable insight into experiences beyond my own.
Roy Marshall, July 2022.
Thank you once again to everyone who entered the Award. All Longlisted poets have now been contacted. Unfortunately we are unable to offer individual feedback.
We look forward to seeing more of your work in 2023.