MORE SCANSION . . .. . . about the Judging ProcessThe panel of judges for the 16th Annual Senior Poets Laureate Poetry Competition was comprised of members of Meeting the Muse Section (the think tank) of Amy Kitchener's Angels Without Wings Foundation. The judges served in various roles as the contest proceeded through the numerous rounds between July 1 and August 15, 2008.The judges, most of whom are award-winning poets from previous Senior Poets Laureate competitions, were allowed to enter the contest; however, they did not judge their states' entries. Three judges served in the 1st Round of readings of all 530 entries, from which Honor Scroll poems were selected. Four judges served in the 2nd Round. In this round, each of the four judges received several states' entries, with each judge reading between approximately 34 and 38 entries; in this round, each judge selected his or her designated State Senior Poet Laureate winner. The total number of state winners was 34. Each State Senior Poet Laureate Award winner was notified by letter, with certificate enclosed, by the middle of July 2008. The 3rd Round of judging—preliminary phase of the final elimination rounds—involved three judges who received and scored all 34 State Senior Poet Laureate award winning poems. Using a system of 1 through 10, the scores were tallied by Wanda Sue Parrott, contest administrator, with highest possible score being 30. The poems receiving the top ten scores of 29 and 30 total points were then entered in the 4th Round of Finals, with two judges again using a 1 through 10 scoring system. The poems with the highest overall score were given to one tie-breaker judge, with the top-scoring poem's writer being named National Senior Poet Laureate, and the next-highest-scoring poem being named National Senior Poet Laureate Runner-Up, on August 15, 2008. Blind copies were read by the judges, so the winners were selected by merit, not because a judge happened to recognize a poet's name. As coordinator, Wanda Sue Parrott was the only participant on the panel who knew the identity of each poet throughout the multi-rounds of competition. She served as sole judge in the selection of International Diploet and Golden Pen award winners. |