Re: Punctuation
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:47 am
It depends on the rules, Neil. Some competitions (e.g. Dunedoo, Henry Lawson Society, North Pine, Hunter Bush Poets) will accept poems provided they have not previously won a first prize, so poems that have won minor awards elsewhere can legitimately be submitted. If they still only win minor awards they'll keep cropping up, and this has been happening for yonks. Just as performance poets keep winning awards with the same poem in multiple competitions. It's always puzzled me that writers are expected to keep producing new work all the time, but the same weight of expectation doesn't seem to apply in the performance competition arena. The only restriction might be that a poem can't have been previously recited in that particular competition.
In addition, if there's a rule in a written comp. that says poems can't have won a first prize by the closing date, you may get such a poem submitted to a couple of competitions simultaneously when they have similar closing dates...and if both subsequently win prizes about the same time it can look a bit suss. But there are also competitions that don't allow poems to be entered elsewhere until after results are announced. Some comps (Blackened Billy) ban poems that have won a first, second or third prize, while others (Grenfell Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson) don't seem to be concerned about previous awards, but won't accept anything that's been published. Then there's the whole question of whether or not we're talking about publishing for payment, something I've banged on about before. All that being said, it would appear that there has been some rule-breaking recently...one case in particular, which is a worry...but that raises the question of what to do about it because this only emerges after awards have been made. Take back the award? Public flogging? It'd be hard to prove it was deliberate as there's always the possibility that the rules were simply misread or misunderstood.
It's a real minefield that's very difficult to police because it relies on organisers and judges being aware of poems that have won awards in other competitions, and nobody can be completely across the detail of that. I retire my own poems permanently if they've won a first prize and avoid submitting the same poem simultaneously to competitions, although that can be frustrating if there's a long and unannounced delay before results are published. In answer to your question about whether anyone writes "for the pleasure of others" any more, I know there are those who have no interest in written competitions because they've said so on this site. Just as there are performers who expect to be paid and others who do it simply for the enjoyment.
As for myself, I spent 40 years writing poems for special family/friend and work occasions...just for the pleasure of others...and now I do it in retirement for the challenge that competitions offer, the prize money, the publication opportunities and because, like Glenny, I love playing with words. It's a hobby that's become most enjoyable 'work'. If others appreciate the result, that's a bonus. And judging is one way of giving something back.
David
In addition, if there's a rule in a written comp. that says poems can't have won a first prize by the closing date, you may get such a poem submitted to a couple of competitions simultaneously when they have similar closing dates...and if both subsequently win prizes about the same time it can look a bit suss. But there are also competitions that don't allow poems to be entered elsewhere until after results are announced. Some comps (Blackened Billy) ban poems that have won a first, second or third prize, while others (Grenfell Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson) don't seem to be concerned about previous awards, but won't accept anything that's been published. Then there's the whole question of whether or not we're talking about publishing for payment, something I've banged on about before. All that being said, it would appear that there has been some rule-breaking recently...one case in particular, which is a worry...but that raises the question of what to do about it because this only emerges after awards have been made. Take back the award? Public flogging? It'd be hard to prove it was deliberate as there's always the possibility that the rules were simply misread or misunderstood.
It's a real minefield that's very difficult to police because it relies on organisers and judges being aware of poems that have won awards in other competitions, and nobody can be completely across the detail of that. I retire my own poems permanently if they've won a first prize and avoid submitting the same poem simultaneously to competitions, although that can be frustrating if there's a long and unannounced delay before results are published. In answer to your question about whether anyone writes "for the pleasure of others" any more, I know there are those who have no interest in written competitions because they've said so on this site. Just as there are performers who expect to be paid and others who do it simply for the enjoyment.
As for myself, I spent 40 years writing poems for special family/friend and work occasions...just for the pleasure of others...and now I do it in retirement for the challenge that competitions offer, the prize money, the publication opportunities and because, like Glenny, I love playing with words. It's a hobby that's become most enjoyable 'work'. If others appreciate the result, that's a bonus. And judging is one way of giving something back.
David