Hi Sarah. The List is essentially a workshop for poetry and welcomes
comment and criticism from members to members, also a site for discussion of
poetics, for the want of a better word. However it is also used as a site
for the dissemination of news from the poetry world that might be
interesting to members . No one would have objected if you had posted
information about the Competiton here. Regards Arthur.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah Willans" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2003 10:12 AM
Subject: Re: OT - Poetry competitions...
Golly gosh, Grasshopper,
No, I didn't mention it on the Works. I didn't like to use this list for
what might be perceived as advertising. I agree - Helena's own poetry and
the support she gives to other poets are admirable. 'Starlight on Water' is
a wonderful read. You only get a critique from Helena in our competition if
you are one of the winners, however - everyone else had to make do with me
and my group. The process we adopted was to discuss each poem as a group,
and then I'd amalgamate the views expressed into (I hope) a coherent whole
and write to the poet. I think this made for a pretty full appraisal of the
work, and we certainly enjoyed it. The standard of entries was much higher
than I expected, though we did get some unbelievably bad stuff too, of
course. My 'top tips' for competition entrants would be: 1) Read the rules.
2) Don't try to draw attention to your work by using fancy fonts, clip art
(yes, really), huge titles or upper case throughout - they do indeed draw
attention, but not in a good way. 3) Don't write about the death of your
mother (unless you've got something arrestingly new to say about it), the
pointlessness of war (ditto) in a poem entitled 'Why?', or the psychiatrist
who sectioned you. 4) Pay close attention to spelling, punctuation and
grammar. Unintentional changes of tense are particularly common and
off-putting.
The worst bit about running a competition like this is knowing that, out of
all these terrific poems, only three will win anything. We will be writing
to all those shortlisted to tell them how close they came, however.
Best wishes, Sarah
----- Original Message -----
From: "grasshopper" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2003 12:51 AM
Subject: Re: OT - Poetry competitions...
Gosh,Sarah,
Was this mentioned on the Works? I have the greatest admiration for Helena
Nelson's poetry and her critiques. If I'd known of a poetry contest she was
judging, I would have entered....(non-subber that I am).
By the way, I completely agree with the idea of offering multiple smaller
prizes rather than one jackpot, in order to encourage as many authors as
possible.
Kind regards,
grasshopper
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah Willans" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2003 12:20 AM
Subject: Re: [THE-WORKS] OT - Poetry competitions...
Gosh, thanks Matt. I have to announce myself as that creative writing tutor,
and a lurker on, and occasional poster to, this forum.
Providing critiques was a useful and fascinating exercise for my group, and
one we enjoyed very much (except in the last couple of weeks, when forty-odd
entries requiring critiques all arrived at the same time!). The money raised
by the competition will, as you hoped, be used to finance poetry events at
the Plough Arts Centre (Torrington). We have recently started holding
monthly open mike nights, will soon be producing a magazine and have several
other poetry workshops and performances planned. We plan to make the poetry
competition an annual event and, as a result of our experience this year,
will be splitting entries into at least three categories in future -
probably adding short (maybe under 10 lines?) and light/humorous verse to
the existing open category. With sponsorship, we plan to run a free-to-enter
competition for local schools.
The aim of the competition (as well as raising funds for poetry events at
the Plough) is to provide encouragement and an outlet for as many poets as
possible, and providing critiques is an important part of our strategy. We
believe it's probably best to offer more prizes of lower value, rather than
one big prize, to the same end. I don't want to take up too much space on
what is primarily a forum for airing work in progress, but I would be very
pleased to hear the views of forum members on any of the above points
(backlist if necessary). Any advice offered will be gratefully accepted.
Thanks again for the kind words, Matt. The judging (which is being
undertaken by Helena Nelson, whose collection 'Starlight on Water' recently
won first prize at the Aldeburgh Festival) should be completed by the end of
the month.
Sarah
----- Original Message -----
From: "Merritt, Matt - Leic. Mercury" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2003 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: OT - Poetry competitions...
Hi,
I think Bob's made a lot of good points there. My main reason for entering
competitions is purely that it gives a definite deadline to work towards.
I'm rather too prone to endless tinkering with poems otherwise. Mind you, I
suppose when I enter and get nowhere, it just gives me another reason to
start tinkering!
I did enter one recently run by the Plough Arts Centre in Devon. I don't
think it's been judged yet, but for an additional £1.50 per entry they
provided a critique. I was expecting this to be fairly brief, but in fact it
was very thorough, and had been done by the Centre's creative writing group
and their tutor. I found it enormously useful in pointing out things about
the poems which had previously escaped my notice, and obviously, as Sally
says, the extra cash is hopefully going to finance other useful work in
poetry.
Matt
-----Original Message-----
From: Sally Evans [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 16 December 2003 14:48
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: OT - Poetry competitions...
THIS EMAIL HAS BEEN SWEPT FOR VIRUSES BY THE NORTHCLIFFE GROUP MAILSWEEPER
SERVER.
Very good points, Bob.
It is easier to tell a badly judged competition from a well judged one. I
like the point where the fairest competition is the one you win!
Things may not always go so smoothly in less prestigious competitions, where
I have seen a competition reduced to the judges giving their friends a
leg-up, while the entry I knew would (fairly) stop me (and everybody else)
from winning, didnt get anywhere!
I think the usefulness, other than financial, of winning any of these has
been eroded by the number of comps and the number of writers. That's implied
in your "Time was...". But there's also the reasonable attitude that it's a
lottery you have a higher statistical chance of winning, if you send in a
competent poem - people who need telling not to send things on pink paper
with coffee stains, are simply financing the comp.
Also, comps sometimes finance other useful work in poetry, eg publishing
magas.
bw
SallyE
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