Enter the Poetry on the Lake Competition

Carzano harbour cr Judy DarleyThere’s still time to enter the Poetry on the Lake Competition with a closing date of 31st March 2019.

There are two categories:

Silver Wyvern (max 42 lines), which will be judged by singer, songwriter and broadcaster Paul Henry, and can be on any theme and in any form.
Formal (max 40 lines) is for traditional poetic forms only, such as sonnet, sestina, or villanelle, but can be on any topic.

Prizes range from €100 to €500.

I love how much more inclusive the world of writing competitions is becoming, with optional fees to allow lower-income talents to enter! In this case, all fees are classed as donations to the competition costs, organisation and events of Poetry on the Lake, so while there’s a suggested amount, they add: “If you genuinely can’t afford the fee, send one poem for nothing. Those who can, please donate generously.”

Find full details at www.poetryonthelake.org.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? Send me an email at judydarley(at)iCloud(dot)com.

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Poetry review – The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

The World's Wife coverI was given this beautiful book for Christmas, requested by me after I heard a Guardian podcast of our lady laureate reading several of the pieces contained within The World’s Wife. While presented in the form of poems, these are very much tales, each one telling the story of the wife of a notable man and giving her personal twist on his deeds, and in many cases, misfortunes.

You don’t need to get all the references to enjoy this feisty, humorous and occasionally contemplative collection, but it does add to the words on the page. In many, Duffy follows up on a known piece of mythology, effectively giving us a glimpse of what happens after the curtain’s close.

The wife of King Midas sees the glimmer of a pear in her husband’s palm, and ends up sleeping with a chair to the door – terrified he’ll touch her as she sleeps and transform her to gold too. Continue reading