Sensational II Challenge Winners

‘We wore that summer as perfume’ runs the final line of Ava Mack’s winning poem for our Sensational II Challenge, ‘Fifteen’. One of the toughest aspects of any kind of writing is ‘sticking the landing’, to borrow a term from gymnastics, and Mack’s lovely little poem does just that, keeping to our rubric but adding the flourish of a perfect closing image.

In second place comes Zivah Avraham’s ‘Shimmer and Tremble’, which uses imagery from Jewish tradition to create a poem that transcends any particular belief system to center the reader in themselves. The sweet cinnamon and smoky clove are particularly evocative.

There were so many lovely and striking images in these entries. Kristen Balyeat’s ‘magnum opus’ conjured the bodily drama of birth in just a few powerful lines; Gabriel Huizenga’s ‘Even Here, Even Now’ used quotidian description — that beef hoagie — to take us to another world; D. J. Redall’s ‘Inky Elixir’ was an ode to coffee we couldn’t resist — with another great ending, ‘bold as a joke in church’.

Thanks to all our Vocal Creators for bringing us back to ourselves with these tactile poems. Sensational, indeed.

You can check out the full list of winners HERE and learn about our current challenges below: