The Flying Islands Poetry Community president and Flying Islands Pocket Poets Series editor has won the coveted Newcastle University Newcastle Poetry Prize with his poem ‘Dombóvár’
From the judges’ report:
“The winning poem, ‘Dombovar’ by Kit Kelen, ranked very high on both our original lists and grew in stature with successive rereads. ‘Dombovar’ skilfully integrates thoughtful reflection on important issues, humour, inventiveness and an engaging partly colloquial tone. This evocation of small town rural Hungary carries echoes of the moral ambiguities and violence of settler societies like Australia.
Throughout the poem there is the suggestion of a larger, potentially national, narrative, but the reader is left to work through the weave themselves. Sudden transitions between dogs and humans and intertextual asides about fences and neighbours add to the poem’s humour. There is also a strong undertone of sadness as the poet subtly creates a self- portrait. With great skill the poem breaks standard idioms and expected word choices to produce a clipped, very tight effect that intensifies the reader’s experience. ‘Dombovar’ uses the form of a poem sequence to powerful effect, shaping a masterful poem that can be read on multiple levels.”