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HOW TO JUDGE A POETRY CONTEST - John Lawless's Blog

About John Lawless

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I am a retired Ironworker(35 years Local 7), a lifetime Boston, Mass resident. I am old enough to know better - but don't.

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HOW TO JUDGE A POETRY CONTEST

Blog Posted:10/10/2022 6:57:00 AM

How to judge a poetry contest

OPTION 1. Printout all entries.

Take them to the top of a stairway

Toss them in the air

Those that don’t land on the stairway are N/A

Those on the stairs are rated from top step to bottom step.

OPTION 2. Print out all entries

Tack them face down on a cork board

Find ten darts

Stand back 10 feet

Blindfold yourself

Toss the 10 darts at the poetry board

VOILA….we have the winners

OPTION 3. Print out all entries

Fold them into paper airplanes

YA! You guessed it…

Fly them out the window…..VIOLA

OPTION 4. Install a poetry algorithm on your computer.

Hit the Sort, Collate, Categorize and Crown key….VIOLA

OPTION 5. Refer to Milton’s Blog

/////just having some fun with the vagaries and vicissitudes of judging (aka evaluating) Poetry Contest Entries//////

Post Comments

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Malabika
Ray Choudhury

Date: 10/23/2022 5:05:00 PM

Enjoyed your blog, John. Ha Ha Ha! Happy Judging!

Texas
Cowboy

Date: 10/16/2022 11:44:00 PM

Fun post on judging, John. I enjoyed th read. Lots of smiles. LOL Bill

Michael
Tor

Date: 10/11/2022 7:42:00 PM

John thank you for letting us know your wonderful techniques in judging. I am looking forward to entering one of your sponsored contests. I hope you use option 1 I will print my poem on heavy paper and hopefully it wont travel far down the stairs. Thanks for sharing your methods I wish more judges would be as honest as you. lol.

Constance
La France

Date: 10/11/2022 8:17:00 AM

John, lol, you have such a great sense of humor. Judging even when giving multiple placements, like I do, is not easy, it is still time consuming. I like Option 5 judging the best, blessings Constance

Andrea
Dietrich

Date: 10/11/2022 6:31:00 AM

hahaha!

Sara
Kendrick

Date: 10/11/2022 4:46:00 AM

I have bitten off another challenge for soupers. It is not easy for sure. I don't know if I will ever do another one or not. Maybe if I need some ideas about what to write on a difficult form. LOL..I'll let others write me some nice poems then that will give me ideas about which to write. I like the humor of your blog and it gives me some ideas on how to judge my existing contest. Sara

Tania
Kitchin

Date: 10/11/2022 3:39:00 AM

John, now we know how you judge contests, LOL, a fun blog!

Eve
Roper

Date: 10/10/2022 10:46:00 PM

great way to judge a contest. at least your having fun.

Anne-Lise
Andresen

Date: 10/10/2022 11:31:00 AM

I've never sponsored a contest ... maybe I should ... I like all your suggestions... (can't stop laughing :)))

L Milton
Hankins

Date: 10/10/2022 9:10:00 AM

This is hilarious, John. Thanks. I enjoyed it immensely!

Jenna
Logan

Date: 10/10/2022 7:39:00 AM

While Option #1 would appear to be the most fun, I'll put my faith in Option #5 to be the most likely to produce deserving winners. What fun you must've had coming up with these, John!

Craig
Cornish

Date: 10/10/2022 7:39:00 AM

LOL--But I have a problem with #1--should'nt the ones that make it farther down the stairs be ranked higher? Just sayin?...And #3 - perhaps in wind and rain, then the ones that stick to the house higher are the winners?

My Past Blog Posts


10 steps to writing what you believe to be great poetry Date Posted: 6/13/2025 2:07:00 PM
"I Almost Tossed It Out" contest expiration Date Posted: 5/21/2025 6:13:00 PM
Alas, old blog Date Posted: 4/4/2025 11:46:00 AM
AN INFINITE NUMBR OF MONKEYS Date Posted: 12/10/2024 12:10:00 PM
ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT Date Posted: 10/5/2024 6:56:00 AM
It's Half Past September Date Posted: 9/16/2024 1:20:00 PM
Stirring the soup Date Posted: 8/16/2024 4:38:00 AM
FINALLY FINALIZED....There is a darkness Date Posted: 4/22/2024 2:07:00 PM
HI-POO SENRYU CONTEST FLUSHED... Date Posted: 10/30/2023 4:50:00 AM
Hi-Poo contest Date Posted: 10/28/2023 6:33:00 AM
What was I thinking contest finalized Date Posted: 9/27/2023 5:15:00 AM
ALERT!!! HE JUST COMMENTED ON HIS OWN POEM!!!! Date Posted: 9/19/2023 6:49:00 AM
Don't Fight it - Write it contest results Date Posted: 6/25/2023 11:58:00 AM
HITHER AND ANON Date Posted: 6/14/2023 5:33:00 AM
COMPLIANT POEMOLOGY Date Posted: 4/12/2023 6:37:00 AM
To Comment or Respond to Same Date Posted: 1/23/2023 7:52:00 PM
JUDGEMENT FREE ZONES Date Posted: 1/14/2023 6:04:00 AM
inserted ads in poetry comments Date Posted: 11/28/2022 8:42:00 AM
OH TO BLOG Date Posted: 11/17/2022 5:22:00 PM
HOW TO JUDGE A POETRY CONTEST Date Posted: 10/10/2022 6:57:00 AM
PAPER AIRPLANES CONTEST Date Posted: 9/14/2022 5:51:00 AM
SOMETHING OLD SOMETHING NEW.......FORGOTTEN CONTEST Date Posted: 6/8/2022 5:22:00 AM
DEAR INHABITANTS Date Posted: 4/21/2022 5:06:00 PM
ALAS, ALACK AND BALDERDASH Date Posted: 3/18/2022 6:40:00 AM
DAY BREAK Date Posted: 2/16/2022 4:57:00 AM

My Recent Poems

Date Posted	PoemTitle	Form	Categories
6/15/2025	I-phone-itis	Free verse	age,humor,
6/15/2025	HOWLING WILDERNESS	Free verse	growth,spiritual,
6/13/2025	10 steps to writing what you believe to be great poetry	List	fun,humor,
6/11/2025	I was crazy enough to give her a daisy	Free verse	flower,love,
6/6/2025	The Lunacy of Language	Free verse	language,words,
6/5/2025	An Osprey Circles	Free verse	beauty,fishing,
6/5/2025	Hope has left the building	Monoku	irony,
6/5/2025	Intrusive Thoughts	Free verse	words,writing,
5/30/2025	Rematch Tomorrow 8AM	Free verse	life,work,
5/27/2025	TAP OUT	I do not know?	humor,irony,
5/26/2025	AH MUSIC	Free verse	age,music,
5/14/2025	OH, NO---It's here	Rhyme	spring,
5/14/2025	She spoke to me yesterday	Free verse	america,freedom,
5/9/2025	Poetry Sucks	Rhyme	humor,poetry,poets,writin
5/8/2025	hush	Monoku	humor,irony,
5/8/2025	PIGEON POLLS	Rhyme	humor,
5/7/2025	The Shadows Lie	Free verse	sunshine,
5/6/2025	Requiem en terna	Senryu	faith,word play,
5/5/2025	ANYHOW	I do not know?	humor,rain,
5/5/2025	Horse Sense	Monoku	irony,
5/5/2025	I Gave Her a Dandelion	Free verse	beauty,character,love,
5/4/2025	TICK TALK	Free verse	time,
5/4/2025	Thank You For Your Service	Free verse	america,memorial day,sold
4/29/2025	KILL THE PARROT	Free verse	irony,
4/28/2025	Didn't feel like writin' today	Free verse	muse,writing,
4/25/2025	A Butterflys Lament	Free verse	beauty,strength,
4/24/2025	Age hasn't softened me	Free verse	truth,
4/23/2025	River Reverie	Free verse	nature,
4/22/2025	the space between words	Free verse	passion,poetry,writing,
4/22/2025	unattended innuendo	Monoku	humor,word play,
4/21/2025	Purple Dreams In Other Realms	Free verse	fantasy,
4/20/2025	I AM POETRY	Free verse	passion,poetry,words,
4/20/2025	The doorbell rings less	Free verse	age,life,time,
4/17/2025	I am	Questionku	introspection,
4/16/2025	The Eternal Question	Questionku	god,
4/15/2025	the poem I writ	Rhyme	poetry,silly,
4/12/2025	There's a dead horse in my bathtub	Prose	humor,
4/12/2025	Saturday	Free verse	rain,
4/11/2025	I used to know	Free verse	humor,kid,pets,
4/9/2025	Memento to the Moon	Monoku	beauty,moon,
4/9/2025	I do not have the time to write a tome	Rhyme	humor,poetry,writing,
4/7/2025	FLASHBACK	Monoku	memory,
4/6/2025	Alas, to write of love and loss and death	Sonnet	death,loss,love,writing,
4/6/2025	DAWN	Etheree	morning,
4/4/2025	OOPS	Limerick	irony,
4/4/2025	Alas, old blog	Free verse	fun,
4/3/2025	talked to a star one night	Free verse	loneliness,star,
4/3/2025	there I was	Free verse	mystery,
3/28/2025	Supercalifr---you know	Couplet	humor,
3/27/2025	Spring will devour the wind	Free verse	spring,wind,
3/25/2025	Life's Familiar touch	Free verse	age,life,memory,
3/25/2025	THINK THANK THUNK	Questionku	confusion,
3/25/2025	death dances	Free verse	death,
3/24/2025	Life's shadows	Monoku	angst,life,
3/22/2025	Point taken	Limerick	humor,ireland,
3/22/2025	Dark Sunrise	Rhyme	morning,
3/21/2025	just sayin	Monoku	humor,
3/21/2025	TITLE MANIA	Free verse	fun,poetry,writing,
3/20/2025	a wind whispers	Senryu	peace,
3/18/2025	Levity escapes me as the sun fades	Blank verse	beauty,night,sunset,
3/17/2025	RED HAT	Other	humor,political,
3/15/2025	POLY-TICKS	Limerick	humor,political,
3/14/2025	Let the Words of My Mouth	Verse	words,
3/13/2025	I fear the closets fuzzy things	Rhyme	fear,night,
3/12/2025	i sat to write of subtle things	Rhyme	longing,nature,spring,
3/12/2025	Allegedly Intelligent	Free verse	poetry,writing,
3/11/2025	Does love make a sound	Free verse	love,senses,
3/11/2025	Snippets of Life	Free verse	age,hair,men,
2/27/2025	Three Mouse-cat-eers	Rhyme	fun,
2/26/2025	Look What I Thaw	Free verse	spring,winter,
2/24/2025	PURPOSE	Monoku	word play,
2/21/2025	Clothes Call	Free verse	clothes,life,time,
2/19/2025	Listening to your eyes	Monoku	irony,
2/19/2025	And what of Poetry	Free verse	poetry,words,
2/15/2025	Stick Figures in Front of Oldsmobile	Ekphrasis	age,art,
2/13/2025	The End of Day	Free verse	sunset,
2/12/2025	NEVER'S FOREVER'S	Rhyme	word play,
2/10/2025	As Day Fades	Free verse	moon,night,
2/8/2025	3PM, cold, windy, snow coming	Free verse	love,winter,
2/5/2025	The Abyss of Time's Canyon	Verse	life,memory,remember,
2/3/2025	The coxswain calls the cadence	Rhyme	life,
1/27/2025	Rumors abound	Limerick	humor,
1/25/2025	Of Promises	Sonnet	passion,
1/23/2025	Age and Circumstance	Free verse	age,life,time,
1/22/2025	Arctic Antics	Free verse	snow,winter,
1/18/2025	Measure twice Cut yourself	Free verse	humor,political,
1/18/2025	OUR president	Monoku	america,political,
1/16/2025	And in the Silence	Free verse	age,life,love,
1/13/2025	What God is This	Free verse	angst,death,god,
1/11/2025	Things AI doesn't know	List	age,fun,
1/11/2025	How to be a good listener	Monoku	humor,
1/11/2025	LAWLESS LAW'S	Prose	fun,humor,
1/7/2025	The touch of her soft flowing hair	Verse	love,
1/5/2025	back alley bake-off	Monoku	city,food,irony,
1/3/2025	I SHALL REFRAIN	Free verse	fun,humor,
1/2/2025	What's the capitol of South Dakota	Free verse	age,funny,wisdom,
12/29/2024	a fill in the blank-festo	Monoku	confusion,
12/29/2024	I believe I may be Artificially Intelligent	Rhyme	age,growing up,humor,
12/26/2024	Silence Emboldened	Sonnet	confusion,irony,silence,
12/26/2024	Dawn's Darkness	Rhyme	how i feel,

My Photos

Fav Poems

PoemTitle	Form	Categories
She's Always Drawing Mermaids	Sonnet	sad,
Paradise Now	Free verse	religion,
Roadmap	Rhyme	age,
A Friendly Goodbye	Free verse	beauty,
Painting With Words	Couplet	poetry,writing,
Dark	Cinquain	dark,death,
The Wintered Soul Among Wisteria	Sonnet	grief,
Death Becomes Art	Rhyme	death,depression,poetry,
And Still She Smiles	Free verse	depression,friendship,lov
'theatre of the Absurd'-Catoptric Corridors of Time	Rhyme	humanity,metaphor,solitud
Moonless Curse	Senryu	appreciation,hope,longing
Sacred Dwellers	Couplet	animal,native american,sp
Rise Up and Sing the Sun	Sonnet	day,
Scurry Now a Panther Comes Your Way	Free verse	poetry,
In Praise of Anonymity	Free verse	poetry,
Courage	Free verse	courage,love,
Totems of the Mind	Free verse	history,muse,mystery,
Resolutions	Rhyme	new year,
Understanding	Free verse	truth,
The Souls of Leaves	Rondeau	nature,
God Was Wearing a Dress	Free verse	spiritual,
Lightning They Name Is Woman	Personification	sky,
The Park Fountain	Free verse	light,moon,night,spiritua
Meditations On a Derelict Wharf	Free verse	age,hope,mystery,visionar
A Life Not Lived	Etheree	angst,anxiety,betrayal,co
Your Name	Free verse	anxiety,childhood,fear,
The Mystery of Before	Free verse	birth,memory,morning,
All That I Have Taken In	Free verse	eve,nature,spiritual,suns
The Poets Are Dead	Free verse	writing,
On Rainy Afternoons	Free verse	child,sad,solitude,
Seattle Streets	Free verse	age,old,
Tomorrow	Free verse	sunset,time,
Prayers are Said	Elegy	funeral,grief,loss,love,
Wasted Things	Free verse	poetry,
Super Size	Rhyme	appreciation,happiness,
How Much More God	Verse	childhood,memory,
I Am	Rhyme	evil,war,
Politicians, Preachers and Prophets	Free verse	imagination,love,poetry,
Narrow Margin	Dramatic Verse	analogy,how i feel,life,
Be Thoughtful of Others	Kyrielle	encouraging,inspirational
If You Look	Rhyme	life,
The Noise of Pretence	Free verse	angst,silence,spoken word
Whispers	Free verse	war,
Crack And Cranny	Rhyme	happiness,how i feel,life
A Little Caveman Reasoning	Free verse	poetry,
Nameless	Rhyme	sad,
To Have Space	Free verse	childhood,god,growth,spir
Dew Kissed Dawn	Free verse	appreciation,light,mornin
Untitled No 28	Free verse	angst,emotions,
A Poet's Prayer	Free verse	poetry,prayer,
Snowflakes	Free verse	analogy,life,perspective,
Death To The Poets	Rhyme	poets,war,
Space Between Stars	Free verse	sensual,
What is Black Beauty?	I do not know?	beauty,black african amer
Sanity at Last	Free verse	america,perspective,polit
I am a girl	Free verse	boy,gender,girl,teenage,
Where The River Cries	Couplet	metaphor,poetry,poets,riv
The Brutal Truth collaboration with Sandra Weiss	Rhyme	age,angst,
Letters To The Poets We Like Poetry Contest	Free verse	devotion,
Small Fish	Free verse	fish,mirror,self,water,
Ashes	Free verse	fire,nature,tree,
How Pagans Came To Be	Free verse	religious,summer,
Enthusiasm	Villanelle	emotions,
Enthusiasm	Light Verse	devotion,writing,
All the President’s Men	Political Verse	america,corruption,politi
Melanin Melancholy	Free verse	silence,

Fav Poets

Poet	Country
Jan Allison	Isle Of Man	Read
Andrea Dietrich	United States	Read
Maurice Yvonne	Canada	Read
Constance La France	Canada	Read
Nette Onclaud	Philippines	Read
Dialectic Crisis	United States	Read
Gershon Wolf	United States	Read
Dale Gregory Cozart	United States	Read
Panagiota Romios	United States	Read
Regina Mcintosh	United States	Read
Maureen McGreavy The Insolent Rib	Canada	Read
Lin Lane	United States	Read