Ways to Celebrate: Enter a poetry competition.

There's always a poetry competition happening somewhere - so why not enter?

Like everyone else who has written poetry for years but, until recently, has kept them hidden away in a folder under their bed, I've never had the courage to enter a poetry competition. I always thought that those competitions were for "real" poets - you know, hardcore types who go to dark bars in black clothes, smoking clove cigarettes.

Recently I came to realize that I am a "real" poet. I consistently write and read poetry. If that doesn't make me a "real" poet, what does? (I actually did use to smoke clove cigarettes - but that was college, I was a literature major and, you know... everyone was doing it!)

So this year, I'm taking the plunge! I've selected two of my favourite poems and I'm entering them into a few competitions. Maybe I'm not as good as the people who will win, maybe the judges will find my metaphor lacking, maybe I'll come dead last - but at least I'll have tried.

If you too feel like taking the plunge into the world of poetry competitions, here are a few to start with:

Poetry on the Lake XIII Int'l Poetry Competition Closing Date: 22 April, 2013
The Fifth Annual Red Shed Poetry Competition Closing Date: 26 April, 2013
Poetic Republic Poetry Prize Closing Date: 30 April, 2013 
Southport Writer's Circle Int'l Poetry Competition Closing Date: 30 April, 2013
Ver Poets Open Competition Closing Date: 30 April, 2013 
The Poetry London Competition Closing Date: 1 May, 2013
The Poetry Box Int'l Dark Poetry Silver Cup Trophy Award Closing Date: 1 May, 2013 
Alsager Summer Festival Poetry Competition Closing Date: 10 May, 2013
The Melita Hume Poetry Prize Closing Date: 13 May, 2013
Mary Charman-Smith May Poetry Competition Closing Date: 15 May, 2013
Human Rights Consortium Poetry Anthology Closing Date: 15 May, 2013
Mslexia Women's Poetry Competition Closing Date: 17 June, 2013

(These are UK based but many accept entrants from all over the world.)

Ways to Celebrate: Write a poem!

I think a lot of people avoid poetry because they have this idea that it's too complicated or too high-brow or too stuffy for them. They're wrong.

Poetry doesn't belong exclusively to the tragically dissatisfied children of the elite ruling class. It belongs to every one of us.

Write some.

If you're not sure how to get started, here's a tip: cut your heart open and let it bleed out on the paper. (That's a metaphor, by the way. Wondra's World does not condone self harm. It does condone the Metaphor Drinking Game, however, so you know what to do.)

It's as easy as that. Don't torture yourself over convention or pretense or what other people might think.

Write for yourself.

Take all those emotions you keep bottled up and get them down on paper. It doesn't have to be pretty. Hell, it doesn't even have to be good. It just needs to get written.

So do it.