I am asking for a LETTER as opposed to a POEM but the judging will be the same. VERY IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW GUIDELINES BELOW. Remember NO NAMES as per PS rule… It will be only AFTER I have judged your letter that I will locate your poem titles (then obviously find out who you are). Trust me! Targeting a MINIMUM of 30 winners.
It might look complicated at first… but check out my blog of May 10th for a SAMPLE ENTRY as well as more info about the whole project. (BLOG tab is immediately below the LOGIN button up in the uppermost right corner of your screen)
PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO: have their submission printed in an anthology with 1) their prior knowledge of which of their poems are selected, and 2) their prior consent if their letter needs to be modified in any way.
YOUR SUBMISSION is a NOT A POEM but a multi-part contest entry :
1) A short LETTER to novice poets (highschool level, retirees, etc) e.g. “Dear budding poet, …” (tone should be personal, friendly and informal):
· 1st paragraph: your view of what modern poetry is (MAX 3 lines)
· 2nd paragraph, etc: offer your 10 tips (be clear, specific and original) (MAX 25 lines)
· Last paragraph: describe what poetry has brought to your life (MAX 3 lines)
2) “My favorite THEMES are …” (MAX 8 themes or MAX 2 lines- enumeration only)
3) ”My favorite REFERENCE sources are …” (MAX 5 - enumeration only)
4) “Ten TITLES of favorite poems I’ve written (in order of preference):” - MAX 10 TITLES of poems no longer than 20 LINES each (preferably different forms): – PREFERABLY AT LEAST ONE: humor, shape, punch, uplifting, different… WORD OF ADVICE IN POEM SELECTION: avoid vulgarity, explicitly erotic imagery, hardcore political rants, and “blah-ness”... and NO HAIKUS (I will post a separate contest because haiku have very particular rules) !!
5) “My literary BACKGROUND:” (mini bio in prose please, not just an enumeration: background, awards, degrees, publications, personal history when you started writing, etc) - MAX 5 lines DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED, I AM LOOKING FOR VARIETY OF CONTRIBUTORS
6) SUGGESTION for book title: MAX 2 titles
7) TITLE your entry as if it were a poem.
8) Send a private soup mail if interested in being the 3RD collaborator – must have editorial skills and commit to proofread book (more info in my May 10th blog)
MOST IMPORTANT: To make it easy on yourself, copy and paste these contest rules (and the sample in my May 10 blog) into a blank document so you can then manipulate at will.
P.S. MY DEFINITION OF A LINE is 60 characters max.
HAVE A SOUPER DAY !!
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Preparing Your Entry
Submit one copy of your poem online. Format your poem. Please make your entry easy to read — no illustrations or fancy fonts.
English Language
Poems should be in English. Poems translated from other languages are not eligible, unless you wrote both the original poem and the translation.