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Charlotte Puddifoot

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Open Poetry Contest Judged (harshly!)

Blog Posted by Charlotte Puddifoot: 3/12/2017 3:14:00 PM

I have to be honest, the overall standard in this contest was disappointing. This happens from time to time, not sure why, blame it on the planetary alignments. Nevertheless, I found five winners, so congratulations to those five, and thank you to everybody who participated.

I'll be hosting Open Poetry Contest #2 in due course, so let's see if we can ramp up the standard; I'd like to be able to fill all ten winning slots next time.

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James
Horn

Date: 3/18/2017 10:46:00 AM

Arrange a way so that all of my poems are automatically entered into your contest as I write them. I would gladly give you my permission. jthorn5656atgmail.com That is my email address you can use but had to write it in such a way so it doesn't confuse Poetry Soup.

Jan Allison
Date: 3/28/2017 2:25:00 PM

Jim you are breaking soup rules by putting in your email address - you need to remove it for your own safety.

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/18/2017 2:10:00 PM

James, I trust you are not holding your breath, waiting for satisfaction here.

James
Horn

Date: 3/18/2017 10:45:00 AM

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/18/2017 2:23:00 PM

James, thinking back to when I was 14 years old, I am literally twice the man I was.

S.Jagathsimhan
Nair

Date: 3/18/2017 12:35:00 AM

Charlotte, I was just wondering how you summoned up the energy required for hosting a contest, while being so ill with all those health issues. I don't know, if the responses you got made you feel better or worse. Anyway, tell me in advance when you host the next one. I will have no complaints if i get rejected bc i know the high calibre you possess as a poet and judge which only a handful in PS would be able to measure up to.

Connie
Pachecho

Date: 3/17/2017 11:42:00 PM

regarding re post of poems in contest. , esp. ones that won a contest in the past. what purpose does it serve to the poet? what challenge does it serve? than to placate their ego, rack up leaderboard points. in brian's last contest i saw an entrant do such. it doesnt make sense. the rules didnt state any guidelines. but still. it didnt state give me your best poem of the past. but still. its that important to her, im guessing. c's contest and most others state current poems which to me fits the most logic.

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/18/2017 2:13:00 PM

Connie, I love the reference to "double big berthas" - good stuff indeed! And as for your avatar - I tink I luff her.

Brian Strand
Date: 3/18/2017 12:04:00 PM

Well Connie as I say, it remains a level playing field in my contest as I did not go to the 'concert' to hear the strad played three years ago! You needed to be here then to realise about contests then.

Connie Pachecho
Date: 3/18/2017 11:34:00 AM

if her poem plays like a Stradivarius 3 yrs. ago you think it's going to change in your contest Brian? so yes it changes the playing field to repost. 100%. plus im taken aback as to why she would have to do this considering her talent.

Brian Strand
Date: 3/18/2017 11:10:00 AM

Connie I would not say it is vanity.PS contests had many problems before the change ,hence the reason for the now more stringent requirements of Premiers.I never know whether they have won an earlier contest anyway so it is always a level playing field in my contests

Connie Pachecho
Date: 3/18/2017 9:49:00 AM

if they need to use their double big berthas to gain an edge they why not. forget the level playing field because theyre chasing vanity, avatar distinction. it doesnt make sense.

Brian Strand
Date: 3/18/2017 9:10:00 AM

Connie my contests only state a max no of lines.I am always happy for poets to submit from their back catalogue.One reason poets might submit a poem that had won previously is because that win could have been before PS introduced the Premier format with the 'avator link distinction' to Standard contests.

Anthony
Mark

Date: 3/17/2017 10:04:00 AM

Charlotte ! What is bad grammar ? I make words look different by adding a different end like " Velour'd " ...now I love how this word both sounds and looks...but know it's incorrect...would you bomb me or take the word in context and say " yeah, that works" ...this is my only fear that the precision of the judges cloth doesn't suit...x ( see what I did there ?)

Anthony Mark
Date: 3/18/2017 7:59:00 AM

Only because that is our job...rather than reinventing the clever metaphore we should be creating a poetic language akin to archaic speech, but relevant and authentic ...otherwise we may as well just yawn through a delegate od limericks and Prosies ( plural)

Charlotte Puddifoot
Date: 3/17/2017 7:22:00 PM

you're one on your own you are! you bend, twist, manipulate and invent words lol

Frederic
Parker

Date: 3/16/2017 3:29:00 PM

so mediocrity is caused by a poetry contest on a web site and not the lack of skill by the poet who creates bad poetry..and if a judge deemed their work worthy of being mentioned it now lifts itself into the realm of being good..at some point the complaint is exposed by the poetry not the arguments to defend it ....let final judgement be by those that judge there own contests not by those who want them to conform to those posting in the contest or they may take their poems and go home..

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/16/2017 9:30:00 PM

Chris, I don't see that peer pressure on sponsors - not that it never exists, I just don't see it. On the different types of judging, quite a few sponsors address that in the contest description - surely a very good thing.

Deborah
Burch

Date: 3/16/2017 1:56:00 PM

Charlotte...I regret having missed entering your contest and will look for the next one. I appreciate constructive criticism. I feel it helps the writer grow and improve. I am glad to read that I can expect this from you. I look forward to hearing from you with helpful comments towards improvement, should the instance arise. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and compassion for the genre. Big Hugggs deb

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/18/2017 2:21:00 PM

Would love, then, to see an alternate forum where Charlotte posts brief comments by a list of all entries ranked from top to bottom. Bet there would be some hilarious ones down there.

Anthony Mark
Date: 3/17/2017 9:49:00 AM

Should the instance arise....it will, Charlotte takes prisoners and contravenes the laws of the Geneva convention...basically if it's crap you will know ....suggest you dine on her back catalogue so as not to need too many tissues....but I will check it for ya lol

Doug
Vinson

Date: 3/15/2017 10:15:00 PM

I think "harshly" sounds too unpleasant, rather than just "in a strict, even-handed manner," or the like. This effect may be magnified by the difference between judging a contest and PoetrySoup's policy on comments - which seems to be tilted well to the "encouraging" side of things versus being critical. It only makes sense for the contest judge(s) to be coolly serious about things, even "brutal" if need be. I agree with Chris Aechtner on Brian Strand's blog - our biases definitely come into play. Then there are the things Charlotte mentions - bad grammar, etc. Either way, contest judging isn't about bending over backwards to avoid disappointing people.

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/17/2017 3:35:00 AM

There must be some real wackos out there, then. : p

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/16/2017 9:22:00 PM

Not unless the same is true for me knowing you, Chris. ; ) Pretty sure that is not the case.

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/16/2017 1:51:00 PM

Ruben, what I felt is that "harshly" seems to have a negative connotation. Or is that just me? Indeed - contest judges in no way have to be "encouraging," per se, and - IMO - should always be strict. For normal comments on poems, I wish more people would go deeper with criticism or at least give more in-depth analysis or reaction, though I grant that the circumstances of the poet matter.

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/16/2017 1:34:00 PM

Charlotte - indeed, and I was over-thinking it. If I have any defense, I pray the court consider that we don't see body language or hear voice inflection when reading the screen. Also think that most such contests should be judged without mercy (so to speak).

Charlotte Puddifoot
Date: 3/16/2017 6:23:00 AM

doug, the bracketed 'harshly!' was tongue-in-cheek, not intended to be taken deadly seriously...the whole thing has been blown out of proportion

Carrie
Richards

Date: 3/15/2017 7:42:00 PM

I respect Charlotte's work enough, and know her as an amazing poet, that I personally would always trust her judgment and expectations to be higher than most. Of course personal taste is a factor in every contest. If one reads her work, or past winners in her other contests, perhaps one will get a better idea of what she is looking for, and strive for it. Or decide this contest is not for you. I would be honored to have her judge and cut me out if I didn't meet the mark. It might mean there is more for me to learn :)

Doug Vinson
Date: 3/18/2017 2:18:00 PM

Agreed, Anthony. Hey, discarding all aspects of "encouragement" and the taking-into-account of what may be the writer's circumstance, I positively cringe at some of the misspellings, improper use of possessives, etc., we see.

Anthony Mark
Date: 3/17/2017 9:57:00 AM

Nailed it Carrie....I missed this one because I'm in another pond...but I love Charlotte's judging technique....and I once didn't place because I made one error...a word I made up met the syllable count in my eye, but she saw through it and bombed me out...felt good to be found out by a class writer...be interesting to see what effect this has on her next contest.....

Anthony
Mark

Date: 3/15/2017 2:41:00 AM

Oh dear,dear,dear...perhaps next time Charlotte you limit the winners to just 3 as in any podium, ..I didn't see this contest but will certainly take a look at your next one, too many hark the dove in flight to be disappointed she doesn't land in their garden...better seeds garden lovers, better seeds indeed...you will either love or hate my gothic palette , but you will not be disappointed....xdrifter

Charlotte
Puddifoot

Date: 3/13/2017 4:34:00 PM

people know when they enter my contests that i am a tough, exacting judge; i read each entry with an editor's eye, asking myself "would this poem stand up out in the wider world of publishing, under an editor's scrutiny?"...in this particular contest the overall standard was unusually poor, and i can't pretend otherwise; poems contained predictable cliched lines, archaisms, bad grammar, and there were very few original ideas, or ideas expressed in an original, refreshing way

Constance La France
Date: 3/14/2017 2:29:00 AM

Ouch!

Brian
Strand

Date: 3/13/2017 11:46:00 AM

Judging contests that one sponsors on PS is indeed very subjective, and what appeals to one does not to another.I used the fixed 1-10 place format,open subject to a line max For my part I felt that if 30 + folk troubled to enter then the least I could do was to place 10 of them.In most contests my problem was who to leave out.

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 3/14/2017 3:39:00 PM

If this were FB, I would LIKE this comment!!

Julia
Ward

Date: 3/13/2017 8:16:00 AM

All judgements in amateur contests are subject to the bias of the sponsor. "Harsh" suggests there was something wrong with 30 poets' work, which there wasn't.

Craig Cornish
Date: 3/15/2017 3:12:00 PM

Bravo Chris, what "Harsh" suggests is that sometimes a judge actually judges instead of making everyone winners, personally, I think that sometimes 5 winners is too many.

Julia
Ward

Date: 3/13/2017 8:05:00 AM

"One of the better entries" you said to Broken Wings. There was nothing wrong with my "Annoying Annette" Triolet, either in form or in interesting content. I have since removed the date so as to not earmark it out as being for a contest, but it was there when the contest was in play.

Janis
Medders Tobechi

Date: 3/13/2017 2:54:00 AM

Did you come across a poem called Images?

Charlotte Puddifoot
Date: 3/13/2017 3:57:00 AM

yes i did

Rob
Carmack

Date: 3/13/2017 12:01:00 AM

Constance - she may have felt the sadness, the disappointment had to do with other issues. Study her winner's list and see those in contrast to the usual fare. It is more than just difference in style, there are many layers there. She is a tough judge, but it is good. I am glad she is being honest.

Julia Ward
Date: 3/13/2017 8:23:00 AM

meant 35.

Julia Ward
Date: 3/13/2017 8:08:00 AM

In an Open contest, more than five out of 30 would have been good. It's not as if there were particular stipulations for us to follow.

Jan
Allison

Date: 3/12/2017 4:10:00 PM

Congrats to all the winners - will try harder for the next contest:-) hugs Jan xxx

Jan Allison
Date: 3/14/2017 12:33:00 PM

You hit the nail on the head Marti:-( hugs jan xx

Julia Ward
Date: 3/13/2017 8:09:00 AM

We all tried hard this time, Jan.

Constance
La France

Date: 3/12/2017 3:24:00 PM

Charlotte, thanks for the inspiration and congrats to your winners ~

Craig Cornish
Date: 3/15/2017 4:03:00 PM

There is nothing disrespectful about telling adults indirectly about something they should already know, as a matter of fact, it is being respectful not to directly remind them. If they need to be coddled like children it is very sad. I see nothing wrong with the way Charlotte worded her blog, honesty is refreshing in this PC world, she could have said "everyone sucked, except the five that are posted"--thanks so much for wasting my time.

Craig Cornish
Date: 3/15/2017 3:26:00 PM

Constance has always been one of the most graceful entrants in any contest and I respect her for that and in saying so, she would be extra excited to place in any of Charlotte's contests because she knows she earned it. AND Marti, it is very refreshing to see Charlotte maintaining her high standards, because unfortunately there are very few on the soup who have any standards at all.

Charlotte Puddifoot
Date: 3/13/2017 3:55:00 AM

constance, i recall the poem and it was actually one of the better entries, so a tough call on that poem; i definitely felt the sadness, in many ways it reminded me of myself when i was a little girl, but i couldn't place on sentiment alone

Constance La France
Date: 3/12/2017 10:01:00 PM

but . . .just because you found my poem disappointing, I loved it because it came from my heart and soul, sorry you could not feel the sadness of that little girl that was me . . .

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Open Poetry Contest Judged (harshly!)

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