John and I have, naturally, discussed this very issue, and we're in complete agreement that the poems we award prizes to will be judged entirely on their merit.
There is an elderly lady poet of my acquaintance who wins LOTS of poetry comps. She doesn't own a computer and all her entries are type-written, in exactly the same layout - and honestly, I know I could pick out an entry by her out of tens of thousands! She'll be entering this comp; she always has. If her poem is the best it will win, and I won't be swayed because I know who wrote it.
As for workshopping them, how many poems have been workshopped on the sphere and gone on to win prizes/be published? No-one has ever said (to my knowledge) that they aren't eligible because they've got a word or phrase suggested by someone else.
Come on, folks, stop nit-picking about this.
John and I are full of integrity, which you don't need to question, I promise!
If you don't trust us to do the job properly, then don't enter. On the other hand, if you want to take part, have no worries about posting your poems here, via Maryann (whose endorsement counts for a lot, surely?).
Hope this puts your minds at rest.
Edited in: We'll just steer clear of this thread if you wish; you can always PM with any queries etc. Or just submit your poems directly to the administrator if you'd rather not post here. Do please enter, though - and good luck!
Last edited by Jayne Osborn; 11-27-2010 at 10:19 AM.
Reason: Took out an errant comma
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