I think that we can all say that 2018 has been an ‘interesting’ year, maybe one that is glass half empty, and our Pick of the Month shortlist for December reflects this in part. With Catherine Ayres, Luigi Coppola and Laura McKee from our ’12 Days of Christmas’ feature* and Rebecca Gethin, Edmund Prestwich and Eloise Unerman coming in from the rest of the December cold, we’ve a group largely reflecting on loss. But because these are exceptional poets, those slants of light always shine through.
The shortlisted poems have either been chosen by Helen and Kate or received the most attention on social media. Do take the time to go through them below (or click on ‘Vote for your December 2018 Pick of the Month′ in the Categories list to your right on the screen.)
Voting has now closed. We will announce the winner at approximately 4pm on Tuesday 15th January.
The winner each month will be sent a £10 book giftcard or, if preferred, a donation of the same amount will be made to a chosen charity. In the event of the winner being from outside the UK mainland, we will make every effort to provide a reasonable alternative. All shortlisted poetry Picks, provided they remain unpublished and meet other eligibility criteria, will be considered as IS&T submissions for the annual Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. (‘Frequency Violet’ by Kate Edwards was a Pick of the Month for November 2017 and was Highly Commended by the 2018 judges. It features in The Forward Book of Poetry 2019.)
* We include 1st and 2nd January from ’12 Days of…’ when we make our shortlist.