sonnet contest
 

I came across the following and am posting for any interested Erato-sonneteers:

Flint Hills Shakespeare Sonnet Contest

http://www.flinthillsshakespearefest...t-contest.html

As Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death, the festival celebrates not only the playwright with the performances of Julius Caesar but also the poet with the launching of the festival’s inaugural sonnet contest. Thus, bards of all ages, unsheathe thy quills!

Contest Details:
Final Judge: Author and Scholar Joseph Pearce
Sonnets may be written in either Shakespearean or Petrarchan rhyme schemes.
Contestant may submit up to five sonnets.
Prizes: $500 Grand Prize, $100 Youth Prize

Rules and Guidelines
Each entrant may submit between one and five sonnets, five sonnets being the maximum. The sonnets entered into the contest must be unpublished and not have been submitted for publication elsewhere. The sonnet must be written with the Shakespearean, Spenserian, or Petrarchan rhyme scheme, following the usual fourteen-line iambic pentameter structure. The sonnets must be submitted online by August 1, 2016, or sent to the address below and must be postmarked by August 1, 2016. There is a $5.00 Submission Fee, but no fee for a Youth Submission (contestants under 18). No submission will be returned.
The winners will be announced on the website on September 15, 2016. The winning sonnets will be read by an actor at the end of intermission at each night’s performance of Julius Caesar.

Thanks, Nausheen. I have something that would make a good fit, and with any contest, it helps to think of the fee as a donation, in this case to a worthy cause. Having clicked into the submission process, though, I can't find how to attach the poems. Or does actually making the payment open up the submission form?

Thanks, Nausheen.

Hi John,

I don't know how the submission system works since I haven't tried it. I was just passing on the announcement which I came across on Allison Joseph's CRWROPPS listerv. You could try asking them through the contact page.

The listserv also had an announcement for the Helen Schaible sonnet contest, but I didn't post it because it still (erroneously) had last year's dates on it. But if you're interested, you can easily find it by Googling. I know that Sphereans have entered (and placed) in the past. That one doesn't have an entry fee, but it would be nice if their website was a bit more inviting and the information up to date.

In any case, good luck!

Nausheen

Thank you for the notification, Nausheen. Does anyone know or have more information on the judge, Joseph Pearce? I realize he's renounced his white supremacist past and become a Catholic, but his scholarship on Shakespeare as a Catholic is, from what I can find, controversial...and the totality of the online information I find on him gives me pause. Other perspectives?

Thanks,
Marybeth

I read about him rather extensively over the past two days and listened to some you tube posts regarding Catholicism and his conversion. I have no reason to doubt his veracity either as a convert or as a judge. He seems more than adequate to me. I may even attend the festival. It ain't that far away from me. I'm trying to find some of his poems to read.

I make it a point not take people who describe themselves as "Author and Scholar" very seriously.

Do you have a list, Michael? Or a lisp?

Thanks, Mike. My feelings exactly.

Thanks, Charlie. Best of luck to you.