[nonindex][/noindex]The drama... the intrigue... the suspense... the sniping... Another thrilling episode of the Spherian Bake-Off with a wonderful selection of winners!! Major kudos, Julie!! And kudos to all the winners. Loved your acting, Aaron. Way to administrate, Alex.

Here is the tally:

1.) X 65.5
2.) Saturday Night in Kirriemuir 52
3.) The Jitterbug 25.5
4.) Process of Elimination 24
5.) Desilu 16
6.) Garden Sonnet 15
7.)/8.) Thirteen 12/Fourth Dimension 12
9.) Hundreds of Corks 10
10.) Shall I Compare Thee to a Winter’s Day? 1

Well done, Aaron, and congrats to everyone.

It's fun to see how (in)correct my suppositions were on authorship. Susan fooled me, though now I see the marks of her fine craft. I figured out Elise from her grace. Julie I knew. I was hopelessly off track on Joshua, which makes sense since this is the first I've heard of him, but I'm glad I have.

So congrats, bis!

Thanks, Aaron (I figured out it was you in the middle of the process...) and Alex. Congratulations, Julie on the coveted double--and Susan who would have had a double but for Julie! And to the bronze medalists. Congratulations, all, in fact. I remembered Mark as the author of the garden poem, recognized Tim of course, and knew I had submitted "Desilu"--but had no clue on the others. I remembered reading "X" but not its author... Thanks to everybody for an enjoyable event, especially those who commented on or voted for my poem. 5th place, yo!

I'm very surprised "X" did so well in the voting, as it elicited only a "Meh" from a lot of readers I respect. I'm even more surprised that "Hundreds of Corks" finished only second-to-last, because I thought it was much better than my own poem. (I salute you, Claudia!)

Just goes to show how subjective taste can be, and how important it is to take both winning and losing with a grain of salt. What matters is whether a poem resonates with us, personally, which is what we're all looking for when we participate in events like this.

I did hesitate to enter a poem I'd previously workshopped here, as it obviously wouldn't be anonymous for everyone, but 1.) there have been previously-workshopped-at-Eratosphere finalists in every Sonnet Bake-off, ever, and 2.) few people here actually offer critiques on workshopped poems on a regular basis, so only a tiny percentage of Bake-off participants would have encountered it before, and 3.) I didn't mind rewarding those few with a little inside knowledge for contributing their time and talent to the workshop boards, and 4.) I workshopped it ages ago, so I figured that even if people remembered having seen a previous version before, they would have forgotten who the author was (as I did with "Desilu"--sorry, Simon!), and 5.) the non-linear approach of "X" is so different from my usual M.O. that I thought my identity would be pretty unguessable by most people who've seen my work.

Reason 5.) was the real clincher, as my other possible entries were on themes that are pretty well-trodden territory for me: diseased and dying children, rape, what's wrong with the Church I love, and other characteristically uncheerful "Julie" topics. This poem's depressing, too, but in a refreshingly new way (for me). Glad some of you liked it.

My thanks to all who entered and commented on the various finalists--I so appreciate others' insightful observations of things I haven't noticed!--and of course to Aaron and Alex.

Thank you, Julie-- but I think "X" is especially masterful.
One of my goals in a poem is to express and evoke emotion while keeping intellect on top (or, as I was going to say, at the helm). In this regard, your sonnet's understatement and restraint work wonderfully. And its narrative undercurrent plays a counterpoint to the overt list -- but that has already been discussed here.
Brava!

Claudia

Well, I'm feeling especially smug, Julie and Claudia, because your poems were my 1st and 2nd votes - without knowing they were yours - and as I'm extremely fond of you both I feel even 'smugger'! :D

Jayne

Aww, thank you, Jayne. The feeling is mutual!

Congratulations, Julie and others. And Aaron for picking ten interesting sonnets except the first one. And the entire voting system that landed a Turco in last place.

I've been thinking that "X" is a new twist on the sonnet form, which is quite an achievement, Julie. Brava, girl.