Joy Chellew’s love of the Scriptures colours both her life and her poetry. In Search of Peace is testament to this love and her search for the perfect peace that only God can give. Joy’s poems bask in God’s blessings; her words walk in His strength; her perceptive insights reveal the power of God’s promises, comfort and constancy. In Search of Peace is rich with intent – to give God the glory.
Like every other day
he sits
people come and go
he sits
staring into space
no face, no action
prompts the least response
he’s heard nor said a word
in all of two long years
Boz walks into the room
he smiles and comments “Dog”
This poem will be found in Joan Ray’s upcoming book to be launched shortly, proceeds of which will be passed on to Lort Smith and Guide Dogs Victoria in honour of their contribution to Pet Therapy
25 poems will be selected to be included in an anthology to be published by PCP
The theme for this competition will be
IMAGINE
This topic lends itself to poems about imagination, fantasy, illusion, dreams, legend, the future, creativity, exuberance, whimsy, fancy, reverie, utopia, idealism, playfulness, hope, wonder, imagery, empathy and social justice.
Stephen Smithyman is the son of two New Zealand poets, Kendrick Smithyman and Mary Stanley. He is married to the actress, Joy Dunstan, and they have two grown up children, Mia and Pablo. They live in West Preston. Stephen has taught secondary English and Drama for many years, mostly at Melton Secondary College. He began writing comparatively late. He has won awards for both short story writing and poetry. His poems, in particular, have been published in a range of anthologies and magazines. He won the Cancer Council of Victoria award for Outstanding Poem in 2011 and the Poetica Christi Poetry Prize in 2013.
Carole Poustie’s work has appeared in numerous journals, including Swamp, Poetrix, Divan, Writer and Verandah. She convenes the spoken word event ‘Stopping all Stations’ in the eastern suburbs and is a past winner of the Page Seventeen Poetry Competition. Carole reviews for Magpies, has published a children’s novel, Dog Gone, just finished its sequel, and is working on a picture book. She has recently completed her Masters in Writing and Literature and teaches creative writing in several community houses. She works part-time in a listening role for the WellSpring Centre.