I reconnected to poetry when I was approaching a milestone birthday and found my way back to the classroom. The highlight for me of poetry class was workshop sessions. I was encouraged by the readings of my classmates' original poetry. At times I would think, will that poem ever be heard? Will it ever be read beyond this classroom and audience of ten? It should be.
I would like to help fellow aspiring poets in a small but meaningful way through this contest that both recognizes and develops talent.
The contest winning poetry will be recognized by our contest judge (a published Canadian poet) with a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place ranking and will appear on our contest website to inspire and create visibility for these aspiring poets.
An interview with the first-prize winner will be published on the contest website, an affiliated publication, or on Allyson Latta's website, "Memories into Story", www.allysonlatta.ca, recommended by The Writer magazine in the 125th-anniversary issue as one of "16 of Our Favorite Writing Blogs and Websites" (March 2012). Allyson has served as our contest's Editorial Consultant. See Prizes for complete details.
To develop talent, the Contest will commit $500 directly to mentoring. Private online mentoring sessions with our contest judge create an opportunity for these aspiring poets for private instruction and to have a collection of their poems closely reviewed.
I am thrilled to launch this contest and for the spotlight and opportunity it will create for the contest winners! My ultimate goal is to provide inspiration for all contest entrants and encouragement to aspiring poets.
Heidi Stock, Founder & President
