A question for Competition Judges

[alongtimegone]

A question for those who have judged or will be judging competition entrants' poems.
Do poetry competition judges ever come across a poem entry that they recognize and if so how do they respond? Do they disqualify themselves from the judging of that poem or is it left up to ethics ... principles ... to judge according to a formula, such as the ABPA competition assessment sheet.

Wazza

[Vic Jefferies]

Although my experience as a judge is very limited I am of the opinion (and always have been) that many poets are readily recognizable from their writing style and/or content. For this reason it must be obvious to many judges who wrote a particular poem.
Whether that would affect the judges decision or not I do not know, but I suspect in the majority of cases it would not.
I have never heard of a judge disqualifying themselves for this reason.

[Zondrae]

g'day Wazza,

If I came across a poem that I had heard or even judges before - I would put it through the same method of judging that I use on everything. Provided it does not come to my attention that it has breached the rules of the competition (eg won a prize elsewhere). Even if you see a poem before you will not necessarily know who wrote it. If this is what you were concerned about.

[alongtimegone]

Thanks Vic and Zondrae. I haven't entered a lot of comps. in the past but have singled out two or three of my poems that I might put forward this year. However, they are pieces I have previously posted on the ABPA forum. I realize that advice would be not to do so if they are possible comp. entries but I wasn't thinking along those lines when I wrote them.
Thanks ... Wazza

[Zondrae]

G'day Wazza,

Check carefully every comp's rules or terms, they are all different. Some only exclude poems that have been placed first. Not all disallow poems that have been published on a website. They state ".... for profit" (or something similar). My understanding of this is that as long as it is not in a book that is offered for sale, it would be ok to enter it. Some disallow poems that have been previously entered in that particular competition, even if they didn't receive a place. As I say check carefully.

[keats]

I would second Zondrae's reply.

Cheers

Neil

[David Campbell]

Vic and Zondrae have pretty much covered it, Warren. Here's what the ABPA Guidelines (full text available via the Home Page) say:

Previously Published (not for profit) original works

These should be permitted in written competitions at the organisers’ discretion. N.B. Not for Profit means no payment received by the author: not sold as a CD/DVD or download recording, nor in a book or other publication.

Previous first-prize winning poems are not permitted.

Previous first-prize winning poems in any open written competition category are not permitted.

N.B. It is desirable that poems which receive a first prize in a concurrently run competition before the second competition’s closing date, should not be eligible to win that second competition. If a poem should win one competition prior to the closing date of another competition in which the same poem is entered, the onus is on the author to notify the second competition that his/her poem has become invalid due to the contravention of the entry conditions.

There are a couple of well-known competitions coming up which will accept poems provided they haven't been published for profit: The Man From Snowy River Festival (Australian Champs, so conducted according to ABPA Guidelines), and the Henry Lawson Society of NSW (Gulgong), which accepts published poems provided they haven't won a first prize. But the Grenfell Henry Lawson Comp, while accepting poems that have previously won an award, won't take anything that has been "published or publicly broadcast". So if you've posted a poem here you could enter it in TMFSRF or the Gulgong Henry Lawson, but not the Grenfell Henry Lawson. Which emphasises the importance of reading the rules carefully!

Cheers
David

[alongtimegone]

Thanks Vic, Zondrae, David, it was more the judges' reactions to a poem they recognized that I was wondering about, more than elegibility and the reason was, that all of my poems, if I think they're are worth sharing, end up on a forum page and therefore have most probably been read by members who are or will be judges. I don't write poems with the express purpose of entering them in competitions. I write for my own enjoyment. I get an idea (not an inspiration) I don't much believe in inspirations though there was this girl once ... but that's another story, and I enjoy sharing them with like minded persons. And yes, I enjoy getting positive comments from other member readers ... I think we all do. As far as publishing is concerned, my own opinion is that sharing a piece of writing on a writing forum should not be considered publishing any more than singing an original song at a pub or a concert etc. does not disqualify it from entering an original song competition. Am I alone in thinking this way?

Wazza

[Terry]

I've posted plenty that have been entered into comps at a later date.

Some start out a sort of fun poems and then maybe get rewritten a little here and there and probably gain another stanza or two.

I try to only enter them where there's no objection to published poems.

I'm always confident that the judges will select them if they think they merit an award.
on top of that who can remember every poem that's posted here.

As others have said read the competition rules and stick to them and you can't go far wrong.

Cheers Terry

[Brenda Joy]

G'day Wuz,
When you go around festivals and hear poems performed in competitions, it is likely that you will come across some of these poems in the written category. Knowing who wrote a poem (even when the rest are anonymous) does not influence the judging whatsoever from my point of view. I judge the individual poem not the poet who wrote it. Does that help?
Brenda