National Poetry Lottery

As ever there's been a bit of comment about the winners of the National Poetry competition. It is prestigious and usually finds a decent winner. I'm not sure I quite like Allison McVety's "To the Lighthouse" as much as Helen Dunmore's "The Malarkey" the superb 2010 winner; its a fine poem (particularly in the 3rd stanza) but depends heavily on its source material. The shortlist is interesting of course, and I smiled at Liz Berry's entry, as its written in Black Country vernacular; something I've done myself - years ago - but always felt was a bit faux; that she does it so well may make me try again!