poetry writing contests

poetry writing contests

Exploring the Art of Poetry Writing: A Comprehensive Guide to Poetry Contests

1. Introduction to Poetry Contests

With these guidelines, you will become a poet who flies comfortably in the still waters of contest sponsorship requirements. Whether you are an experienced poet entering award-winning words into poetry contests as a supplement to your writing or are new to the world of poetry competitions, be aware that poetry contests demand a more refined artistry of poetic talent. Your poetry should focus on rhythm, descriptive language per meaning, figuration, and relevance. Dare to explore the world of poetry contesting.

This comprehensive guide is supported by a well-researched and regularly updated database that describes contests for poets who need greater literary visibility. The contests listed in this survey include those that demand no entry fee, contests you may bypass if you use a previous guest’s poetry to lower your fees, contests whose entry fees and prizes transform exposure into dollars, theme-based contests with appealing prize cash, and contests open worldwide.

In this guide to mastering poetry contests, information is presented to help beginner, novice, and experienced poets. A comprehensive list of poetry contests along with their addresses is also presented.

Being a poet can be a rewarding career or, at the very least, a potential way to earn a supplementary income. Many poets have other types of careers yet still choose to write poetry without any intention of earning income from their publications. If you are considering entering one or more poetry contests to earn some money or to give yourself some credibility by earning the right to say you are an “award-winning poet,” a review of this supported research can provide you with valuable information.

2. Crafting Your Poetic Voice

Poe’s concept of poetic “indefinite susceptibility” of impression – being too complex to reduce to a simple formula – refers to an anecdotal means by which the discovery is accomplished: an account of an utterly novel or unknown experience. Readers of the poem then find within it a form of their own identities which can change their attitudes to living, since predicating one’s identity is a major benefit of language. When a poet says “I,” he or she may be saying “you,” enabling another person both to comprehend and to internalize the poem’s particular sense of identity. You, in reading a good poem, will not only grasp the poet’s voice and individuality, feeling the response when “I” say “I.” The good poet, attempting to communicate a particular identity to meet an individual life’s demand, is aware of the multiplicity of voices in the world. As Theodore Roethke explains: the poet composes the poem as a way of healing the self, and finds “himself” directing the process of inner healing without trying to assume the authority of the other, without becoming a psychological dictatorial director. That poetic “inconclusive” ending, which involves so much yet leaves an open question, shows the poet’s faith that the other also has the human capacity to make internal decisions. Words in context, in the hands of a skillful poet, have the capacity to connect us. They create oneness, confluence, and reflow.

In poetry, the speaker is not necessarily, or exclusively, the poet. Nevertheless, the poem occurs as a process of discovery for the poet, a linguistic adventure by which the speaker learns who he or she is during the act of creation. Poetry finds the poet rather than the poet, or the speaker, the poem. Langston Hughes said: “Every poet must find the poetry in his own wanderings and transform his experience into his unique spoken language.” It is partly the individuality of the poet and his means of relating to the bewildering events of living that makes some poets better than others. Identity is involved in the entire process of writing poetry. The poet must be involved or committed emotionally. The speaker of a poem is not functioning as a warped reporter of the creator. The poet reacts through his or her poem, which is a living thing: direct speech. The emotional substance of the poet’s words fuses with the voice, granting an inner identity – a poetic voice. Every time a poet writes a poem, he or she is re-experiencing meaning from the past and beginning to make new associations.

3. Navigating Different Types of Poetry Contests

Throughout history, the great prize-winning poets you admire so much have entered some of the most well-known contests and have had to explore what makes a particular poetry contest unique from others. If you open your heart and yourself to the world of poetry, you can add cash money and other prizes to the intrinsic rewards that come from creating and writing poetry. Enjoy your poetry writing today!

When it comes to exploring the art of poetry writing, you will want to consider the number of poems, the form, and the style of poetry you decide to write. With this in mind, you may want to enter into a poetry contest. By focusing on the organization of your writing and enhancing your editing skills, you may find that your creative self may be the key to winning. Match your unique style of poetry to those of different types of poetry contests and see how many you can enter. Upon examination, you will discover that there are many contests that are uniquely different from one another in style and form of poetry writing that you can enter today. Happy writing!

4. Tips for Winning Poetry Contests

Tip #2 – Spend the extra money usually required for non-members: Even though you have to pay a membership fee, in many cases you will also need to fill out an additional application; in these cases, membership alone does not register you for the Poetry Contest. In other cases, you can ignore the membership requirements and just pay the non-member contest fees. At any rate, it is a small price for the chance of winning the many prizes that are offered. If you think about it, the added feature of a membership allows many opportunities for networking as well as meeting fellow poets and sharing poetry writing tips along with submitting/selling poems, and publishing/in purchasing textbooks and books. The overall package of the benefits is what makes Cottage Press what it is. Don’t miss out on the fun and personal growth you can acquire.

Tip #1 – Become a member: In many, if not most, cases, it is almost necessary that you become a member of a poetry organization in order to participate. In addition to being a member of a specific organization, it is possible that you need to have already published a book, belong to a group that perhaps has readings, workshops, and such. These are factors that are important when completing the related questionnaires. The questionnaires need to reflect your personal achievements. If you begin to look online at the application forms, it is possible to acquire some insight as to just what information is required.

5. Resources for Aspiring Poets

Finally, a poet’s best weapon in perfecting his craft is a good dictionary and thesaurus. Do you know and understand every word (and especially every synonymous) you use in your poetry? If you are not sure, look it up. Don’t get caught using a word that is the almost perfect word, but one or two letters off or the wrong part of speech! This is lazy and could possibly irritate that one judge who is sure to know and feel that the wrong word is used.

Just about any bookstore or library has volumes filled entirely with poetry. Learning and perfecting the art of poetry often depends on extensive reading of other well-written poems. An aspiring poet will find it beneficial to study many different styles and forms of poetry. A poet should also have a solid grasp of the history and development of poetry over the centuries. With this understanding, you may be able to choose subjects and themes that have been written on extensively, as well as common themes that have not been written about for a long time. You may also find that a subject you wish to write about has been written on in a style or with a perspective that is very similar to your own. With a group of fellow poets, you can discuss and analyze certain poems for their structure. What works in the poem? How has the poet used words to convey a very strong image or feeling? If this understanding is made into a habit, your poetry probably improves quickly.