Thank you, Alex. Now I get it.

I see that your position in this mirrors mine in an early-sixties double-blind trial of the contraceptive pill. (This, I hasten to add, was an assessment of side-effects; there were no placebos!)

Also, that you added the second instruction for those who wilfully ignore the first. :)

That strange small sound you hear is me, hunting for likely sonnets in unlikely places.

possible previous entry
 

Alex: I think I might have had rush of blood to the head last time and entered a sonnet but am not sure....anyway of checking? Obviously I did not win, or even get into a final selection (I think), so does it matter.

kind regards

doina (still alive but not writing much, back soon)

Ann - you're welcome ... and good anecdote!

Doina - It doesn't matter. There are no entry restrictions except for those mentioned in the announcement (i.e. submit before the deadline, one sonnet per person, etc.).

...Alex

Previously published sonnets
 

Hi Alex,
If we submit a previously published sonnet, how do you want the info for proper crediting?
Thanks!
Jay

Jay - credit as you wish. Note, though, that the credits will not be displayed until after the event is completed and all the votes are tallied (to preserve anonymity as much as possible).

Cheers,
...Alex

Are there any particular kinds of sonnets that will not be considered? For instance a blues sonnet or a Stefanile sonnet, or other variants without actual labels?

Martin -- There's no restriction, but the DG and the craft, etc. are the final arbiters for making the finals or not ... and it's my experience that the more non-standard you go, the higher the level of craft and originality required to gain interest/acceptance.

...Alex

Thanks, Alex. That makes sense.

This is such a great idea, Alex, but I do have one doubt about it. Couldn’t the anonymity of the authors be in some way compromised by the submission of already published poems? Published, although not necessarily meaning famous, does suggest availability, and Google search makes things so easy. If the works are anywhere on the net, even just as a title or an excerpt of a few words, mentioned by others or in a list or table of contents, something might point to the writer, and all the work for this blind/blind would be ineffectual.

Thanks for some reassurance on this point,

Hi Lois,

That's a good point, one that I'm aware of and wary of. The point of including previously published poems is to increase the overall quality of the submissions received. However, now that you've expressed this familiar concern, I think it's not unreasonable to limit the finalists to entries that cannot be Googled--which will translate to print publications and books not yet in Google's database. So, here's a little tweak to the rules: if you're a finalist and your sonnet can be googled, you'll be given a chance to send in a replacement sonnet, which may or may not make the finals, in which case another sonnet will chosen as replacement.

Cheers,
...Alex