Poetry contest closes soon - share your work!
You still have time (but not much) to enter the TIWD poetry contest
Poetry tells the truth and shares emotion in ways other media cannot.
Great writers, leaders, and thinkers obsess over what poetry is. “Poetry cleanses.” It “can communicate before it is understood.” The poet, before anything else, is someone “passionately in love with language.”1
If you feel any of that, then you’re at the right place, and I want to invite you one last time to submit your own original work to the First Ever Poetry Contest for Things I Wrote Down.
The contest includes cash prizes, a panel of judges, all of whom are working artists, and it closes at 11:59 p.m. on May 31.
So if you’ve been on the fence, have talked yourself out of it, or have procrastinated, it’s time to silence the voice that says you can’t, sit down and crank out a poem (or submit the poem you’ve already written to the contest).
My thanks to everyone who subscribed to this newsletter and to everyone who submitted a poem. It’s amazing to have entries from all around the world and to connect with others who love to write things down.
The winners will be selected, notified, celebrated, and featured here in June.
~ AK
Read my interviews with the incredible panel of Judges
A great highlight of running this contest, besides receiving submissions from people around the world and connecting with other writers, has been to learn more about the four people who will select the winning poems. Read my interviews with prolific and profound Canadian writer Marcia Lee Laycock; poet and humanitarian Ella Grace; best-selling author and filmmaker Daniel Kooman; and poet and ecologist Gideon Heugh.
Contest Details and Rules
The content is open to all my subscribers and there are cash prizes totalling $600!
Prizes
First place - $300
Second place - $200
Third place - $100
Theme
Build Up (here’s my original write up on the why)
Poetry Specifications
Length:
Poems should not exceed 100 lines (approximately 2 pages).
Form and Style:
There are no restrictions on form (free verse, rhyme, haiku, etc.).
English entries only.
Content:
Poetry must adhere to community standards; no hate speech, explicit content, or material that promotes discrimination.
The theme should touch on the concept of Building Others Up, but there's wide latitude on what that means.
For all other contest rules, details and the submission form, go here.
I’m so excited!!!