Here is a warning from my friend's blog (she is Carolyn Howard-Johnson, poet, author, blogger,educator) to all those poets who are tantalized by the prospect of winning prizes. Just submit, we are told...it's free. You will win a gazillion dollars (plus or minus) and a free copy of our collection in which your poem will be published.
Someone just sent me an email that they had entered a poem in one of these contests.
Look. Poetry is a difficult genre to write because you're dealing with the moment and emotion. Your words are precious to you and you hope they will become precious to your reader. It is perhaps, the most honest form of literature. You can fudge emotion when you write prose, but I believe poetry comes from the gut. So don't be fooled.
Here's the link: http://sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/2008/09/norma-sundbert-tells-poets-to-beware.html
Fooled you, didn't I? You were expecting a snootful of political ranting? JUST WAIT till the next entry to see what happened in Minneapolis to an AP reporter. Journalists, beward. The men dressed in black, with the helmets, bulletproof vests and automatic weapons, tasers and REALLY big clubs are coming for you and your cameras.
1 comment:
May, I've been cautioning people about scams since I first started my newsletter, Sharing with Writers. The thing is, some worry so much about them it cripples them from utilizing them to build a platform that will entice publishers and build readership. The trick is to know that paying to enter contests is a time-honored traditions (literary journals generally run on small budgets); the trick is to do your homework and never spend more than you can afford.
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
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