MINGLED VOICES 7 contains the work of fifty-one poets. The one hundred or so poems were selected from those entered for the International Proverse Poetry Prize in 2022, the seventh such annual international competition administered from Hong Kong. The International Proverse Poetry Prize was jointly founded in 2016 by Dr Gillian Bickley and Dr Verner Bickley, MBE, in association with the annual international Proverse Prize for unpublished book-length fiction, non-fiction or poetry, submitted in English, which they also founded, in 2008. Poems could be submitted on any subject or topic, chosen by each poet, or on the subject selected for 2022 by the Administrators, "Renewal" (interpreted in any way each writer chose). There was a free choice of interpretation, form and style. Included in the anthology are the poems that won the first, second, and third prizes. Selection to appear in the anthology was also awarded as a prize by the judges. This year, special mention is additionally made of five of these poets. Poems were submitted from around the world by writers with a variety of previous writing experience. Brief biographies of all of those whose work is represented in Mingled Voices 7 are included in the anthology as well as authors' background notes on their work. Included in the anthology are the poems that won the first, second, and third prizes. Selection to appear in the anthology was also awarded as a prize by the judges. This year, special mention is additionally made of five of these poets. Poems were submitted from around the world by writers with a variety of previous writing experience. Brief biographies of all of those whose work is represented in Mingled Voices 7 are included in the anthology as well as authors' background notes on their work. COMMENTS "Previous springs have brought us a dazzling miscellany of poetry in the form of Mingled Voices and, happily, this year is no exception, with another batch of freshly hatched poems before us, blinking in the early sunlight of our eager gaze. This year's topic was 'Renewal'; as with themes from previous years, this one was interpreted widely, though the term takes on a special meaning in the light of our global recovery from the pandemic. However, it also suggests the phrase 'Make It New' which, popularised by American poet and critic Ezra Pound, and often quoted in discussions of Modernist poetics, actually seems to have a pedigree dating back to the Shang Dynasty in China. And, I believe, the best of the writing here truly helps us to see the world afresh through the eyes - and above all through the vivid imagination and vibrant words - of the poets. -Jeff Streeter, Writer and critic, formerly Director of the British Council in Hong Kong.
"It is wonderful that Proverse has created such a community of writers, that we can read and appreciate each other's poetry, and that it has been published and distributed to the world." - Joanna Radwanska-Williams, First-prize winner, International Proverse Poetry Prize 2021.
