Pffft ... half the collection are my favourites, Tim, and the other half are more than decent runner-ups. But if I had to pick one, the brutality of Aftermath will probably make it the one I remember in 1 year's time.

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Svein Olav (The poet formerly known as Solan )

They are all in IP, though nicely substituted. I think the hexameter line is meant to be read with elision on mem'ry, the way most of us pronounce it outside poems.

My favorites are (1) Your Other Men and (2) Fire. But all the finalists are worthy. My least favorites are M. Magus and To Petrarch. Some of the others I recognize from the board, but I don't recognize any of these four and have no clue as to their writers.

Carol

Carol:

I tried that syncopation for "memory," but still didn't feel comfortable with the syllables I had left.

Strong poem, though.

I'd vote for "Your Other Men" and "People Who Give You Things," I think. But I loved most of the 9 and might vote differently another day. I seem never to get tired of sonnets, so I really enjoyed this. Thanks to Tim Murphy, Len Krisak, and all the writers. I wish there could be more posted here! Best, --Simon

My top three picks are "Your Other Men," "People Who Give You Things," and "Aftermath." No matter how barraged we are with sonnets, good ones like these are always a pleasure.

Thanks, Tim and Len, for arranging this.

What a fine selection of sonnets.
Mr Magoo's very clever, but too esoteric, I think--the author's having fun, but the reader's not given a fair chance.
I'd pick most of them as winners, depending on my mood. At the moment I'm in a Larkinesque frame of mind, so am favouring "People Who Give You Things".
Best regards,
David

My three favorites (of a very good bunch) are "People Who Give You Things," "Your Other Men," and "Closing Parishes in Boston." I think all of the poems are technically quite good. What made these the most memorable, for me, was how much was at stake emotionally and how charged the language is. They are all "wow" poems.

Susan

Another fine group of sonnets. Thanks, Tim, for your annual efforts organizing this, and Len, for selecting and commenting on this year's group. (Tim, if you collected several years' worth of your bake-off here, I suspect you'd have a sonnet anthology that would rival anything else of its kind in print!)

My own personal favorites among so many good ones are "Catullus" (a classical allusion with completely contemporary bite and feeling), "Fire" (breezy, smart and seemingly effortless), and "Aftermath" (channeling Browning so well, as others have noted, that Browning himself would be jealous).

Let me add my thanks, Tim and Len and bake-off contributors. Yum!

Julie Stoner