[Bards] Judging a competition

[Jay Rudin]

Susanne of the Steppes wrote:

> I thought she was the best at the competition, though she didn't win,
> which made me wonder if I was all at sea about what was expected
> at bardic competitions.

Several years ago, somebody assembled a panel of English professors and 
literary critics to choose a list of the 100 best novels ever written.  This 
panel was composed of the greatest experts in the field -- people who had 
trained their entire life just to be able to analyze literature.

And they didn't agree.  The world's greatest experts, with months to talk 
and compare notes, judging works of art that they had studied for years and 
read countless times, could not agree on the relative value of the most 
over-analyzed literary works of all time..

Great movie critics are often surprised at what movie wins the Oscar.  Great 
sports analysts cannot agree on which team or player is #1.

How can our amateur judges expect to do better than that, in a few minutes' 
time, based on a single hearing, in the middle of a very busy day?

One thing I've learned from judging many competitions is this: the judges do 
not always agree.  It therefore follows that with a different mix of judges, 
a different winner would have been chosen.

So what does this mean?  Several things:

1. As Edgar Allan Poe said, "The final arbiter of art is taste."  No piece 
appeals to everyone, just as no book or movie appeals to everyone.  It's ALL 
RIGHT that this mix of judges preferred a piece that you didn't.

2. Aa single competition cannot tell us which performer, or even which 
piece, is "better".

3. We don't even have a clear, unambiguous definition of what "better" means 
in this context.

So don't sweat the competitions.  The best bard doesn't always win, just as 
the best fighter doesn't always win the tourney.  The branch  will get a 
good bard to serve in the ceremonial office, and all competitors got a good 
venue to perform, and the audience got a series of good pieces to listen to.

Do your best, have fun, applaud the winner, and move on.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin