Punctuation

[Glenny Palmer]

Twice one of my poems has won awards in two competitions, each time because (as David explained) the second comp took poems that hadn't won anything by the closing date.

(...and a very valued 'newcomer' you are Robyn. Thanks for a nicely balanced post.)

Pretty simple to sort I reckon. Just make it a condition that winning poems must be made available for the website and the magazine. Many events want to brag that they are operating 'under the auspices of the ABPA.' Well...this is one of the auspices!!
Fail to adhere & you'll be publicly named & shamed!!

I think it is a tad mean spirited to not submit winning poems to the site & the magazine. Those folk who support the competition..and the website..and the magazine, surely are entitled to be given the courtesy of seeing the winning piece. It is not just a common courtesy but a distinct aid to those who did not receive an award. When they get to read this they can identify just how they may improve.

I have never ever submitted the same poem to multiple comps at the same time. I think this business of doing so can facilitate disharmony & confusion. (re Neil's prior rightful objection to a winning poem winning again.) For me, this is an undesirable method to pursue. (no offence intended, other than to single minded trophy hunters.) And I have always submitted my winning poems to the site....but not always the magazine. I'll haveta brush up on that...given that I do win any more of the blighters.

On the brighter side, Neil, I think that the bulk of our poets do write for the enjoyment of others as well as themselves. (It only takes a few rabid trophy hunters to make it seem otherwise) and also contribute well in the background. Nursing homes, local charities etc. We just don't get to see any of this...like we consistently do with the comp results.

As for judges having to judge the same tired old poems time & again....I am a judge. I am also a human being, & I openly admit that when I see these same poems time & again it naturally does not enthuse me. I obviously know they have been doing the rounds...& not succeeding...probably for very good reason. But I do give them my most objective RE-read, albeit with a level of reduced enthusiasm.

Goodo then. (check your email Neil. You want poems? You got 'em. ) xx

[Glenny Palmer]

Goodonya Terry. Just keep putting your best foot forward... No problem mate. Every little bit helps...hopefully.
Cheeers

[keats]

Goodo then. (check your email Neil. You want poems? You got 'em.


Thanks Glenny, but getting a bucketload of poems from one poet is only strengthening my point. I am after variety from members, a selection of quality poems from different people. THAT is what is not happening. I don't know what the answer is but it is not publishing a magazine of all one person's poems. I fear this trend of holding onto poems to reuse in later comps (I get to see all the results remember, and the repetition is very sad) and I simply fear that a lot no longer wish to share. That will be yet another mortal wound in the heart of the ABPA. One it really could do without.

Anyhow, I'm flogging a dead horse here, so I'm over and out.

Cheers

Neil

[Glenny Palmer]

Yep. I get your point Neil. I've got this picture in my mind of that old Uncle Sam war poster ''Your Country Needs YOU!'' & I can see your best military face in place of Uncle Sam's with ''Your Association Needs YOUR poems.'' (might be worth a try? )

I can understand poets wanting to give their poems a fair try in several comps, (preferably not at the same time) but those that roll around for 12 months... or even longer, don't do anyone any favours IMO. From this discussion it's unfolded that the practice is actually harmful to our collective craft.

I can't see any downside to your detailing this problem in the magazine, along with your position on the negative consequences. We all bumble along in our own little worlds & don't really fully comprehend these issues until they are brought to light, so I reckon that prior mentioned Editor's Notice could be a permanent one?

In the meantime....c'mon all you slacko prize winners. Give the man a leg up & send him some of your acknowledged poems. Give him something to work with for goodness sake!

[Glenny Palmer]

I just had another thought. (quick, before it gets lonely) How about the magazine runs its own exclusive comp? Maybe free membership for a year for the prize? I dunno. I gotta go. The Seniors Christmas Party awaits....(wild!!)
Cheeers
Glenny

[Robyn]

We all bumble along in our own little worlds & don't really fully comprehend these issues until they are brought to light

I agree Glenny. I must admit I hadn't thought about it in those terms.
So I for one will get my act together a bit more - have just posted one of my prize winners (which incidentally I had already sent to Neil, but hadn't mentioned it was a prize winner as I didn't want to blow my own trumpet).
Nor had I thought much about multiple entries... I hadn't realised there could be an issue if one abided by all the rules of the comps. Food for thought. And that's what is great about this forum... Sometimes it doesn't just give food, but a whole meal's worth of ideas!
So thank you to all who contribute their opinions and experience.

[Robyn]

How about the magazine runs its own exclusive comp? Maybe free membership for a year for the prize?

Great idea Glenny.
When I was editor of our local newspaper I always tried to run a literary comp in January (not much goes on in January!) The prize money was small, but I published a lot of the entries, which seemed to be enough incentive as there was always interest both from the writers and from the readers. And I always had a junior section - very important to encourage our young writers!

[Vic Jefferies]

Competitions are killing the ABPA and in fact harming the movement as a whole. People do not forward their "best" poems to the magazine for publication because to do so would harm their chances in a competition. Consequently Neil is left searching for content and the resultant poor quality magazine does nothing to encourage new people to subscribe. In the days of yore it was prize enough to be published.
I have maintained for a long time that the only happy chappy at a competition event is the winner and even the place getters are usually a bit miffed.
In conjunctinwith Peter Mace I have been running the Gosford BUsh Poets for near to eight years and we have been successful in attracting good crowds and more importantly established poets and new poets over that period due I think to lack of competitiveness. Everyone gets the same go and there are no winners or losers which I think encourages people to return.

[David Campbell]

Can't agree, Vic. I, along with others, commented on the importance of competitions in Heather's "Comps" thread back on June 3, so I won't repeat those arguments here.

What you're effectively saying is that poets like Zondrae, Glenny, Leonie and Stephen are being counter-productive with the competitions they put time and effort into organising and publicising. If they simply gave it away, along with people like Jan Lewis, Jan Morris, Sandy Lees, Carol Heuchan and a host of others, where would bush poetry be? I got involved in the ABPA in the first place because of a competition. I put in an entry which won a prize, and received a phone call out of the blue from Eddie Dalton (who's not on this site but will be known to many of you). I'd never heard of the ABPA but Eddie filled me in and gave me a copy of the magazine.

Competitions can open doors to publication and performance gigs, provide a challenge, offer incentive to newcomers...all manner of opportunities and I, for one, am extremely grateful to those who work behind the scenes to keep them up and running.

But not everything has to be competition-related, and the success you have at Gosford is a case in point. However Peter Mace is a regular performance competition entrant and winner, and you've also had Carol, another regular competition-winner as a guest poet. Part of Carol's early fame came when she won a $34,000 tractor in a 2004 poetry competition, and you promoted her presence at Gosford by pointing out that she'd "won virtually every possible and available award in the local poetry scene". So, even though you're not running a competition, you're using the fact that others have done so in order to to attract attendance. Seems to me that's an endorsement of the value of competitions.

Poets' breakfasts aren't competitive either, and they're very popular. But they're often run at festivals which include written and performance competitions. There's plenty of room for both.

David

[warooa]

Vic said "Consequently Neil is left searching for content and the resultant poor quality magazine does nothing to encourage new people to subscribe."

I reckon that's a bit rough, Vic. I understand your point of view, but in my opinion the magazine has gone from strength to strength with Neil as Ed. I've been a member for over 5 years, and like David it was a competition that put me in touch with the ABPA.

Marty