Last but certainly not least, Malika writes that runner-up Wendy Orr's found poem A Parliament of Members 'captured power dynamics inherent in patriarchy within Parliament. It is both a shape and sound poem that plays and experiment with the white page. Yet it is the repetition that resonated with me.' This concludes our series of features on the 2019 Women's Poetry Competition winners. We hope you have enjoyed reading these excellent poems as much as we have!
A Parliament of Members
(Found poem: from a parliament transcript of the women MPs
who were ejected from New Zealand Parliament, 11 Nov 2015):
As a victim of sexual assault, I would [ORDER! ORDER! –]
As a victim of sexual assault I [ORDER! –]
Iwouldlike [ORDER! –] toask [ORDER – ORDER – ORDER –]
To ask [ORDER – ORDER – ORDER –]
For [ORDER – ORDER – ORDER –] to ask for a personal explanation
[THE MEMBER WILL –]
[RESUME – HER – SEAT –]
of the Prime [WILL – ] Minister’s [RESUME – ]
comments [HER –] ofthePrimeMinister’scomments [ HER – SEAT! – ]
As a victim of sexual assault [ORDER! ORDER! ORDER! ]
[REMOVE – THE – MEMBER! [I– MUST – ASK – YOU– TO – LEAVE –]
As a victim of sexual assault [ORDER! –] I [ORDER – ORDER – REMOVE –]
[THE – MEMBER – LEAVE – THE – HOUSE –]
[[[[[[[[[GO-ON-MY-SON!]]]]]]]]
As a victim of sexual assault I [ORDER! – ORDER-ORDER! –]
For The Sake Of Consistency [ORDER! – I – MUST–]
[ASK – YOU – TO – LEAVE –THE– HOUSE –]
[[[[[[[[[[[[GOOONMYSON!]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
As a victim of sexual assault [ORDER! – ORDER! –]
[I MUST ASK YOU TO LEAVE –]
[I – MUST – ASK – YOU –TO – LEAVE – THE – HOUSE –]
As a victim of sexual assault [ORDER – ORDER – FLOUTING! – FLOUTING –]
[THE – RULES! –]
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[GOONMYSON!]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
As a victim of sexual [ORDER! – ORDER-ORDER-ORDER! –] [I – MUST–]
[ASK– YOU – TO – LEAVE –] as a victim of [ORDER –]
As a victim [REMOVE –] as a [THE –] as [MEMBER–]
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[GOOONMYSON!]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
[[THE HOUSE – SHOULD NOT BE OFFENDED –]]