[stephenspower]

Putting quality aside, recognizing that any judgment is subjective and avoiding any sour grapes that mine wasn't chosen either, I can't get past the fact that seven of the ten finalist were about the elderly or growing old (including the internet poem, whose narrator is probably older than 60).

Was the bake-off sponsored by the AARP? Were nearly 240 of the submissions on this subject or theme, so the sample was simply representative? I appreciate the judges noting their criteria for why they chose individual poems. I'd also be interested in hearing how they pulled the ten selections together as a group. Was balance of types, as you would find on a reality show, considered?

[dean peterson]

I can't speak for the judges, but I bet most of us are growing old. And, my entry (not selected) was on Frank Sinatra's 80th birthday party, if that's any consolation.

[Catherine Chandler]

Just a quick note:

No, the bake-off was not sponsored by the AARP Nor by the Lonely Hearts Club.

To quickly answer your question, stephenspower,I would estimate that nearly 90% of the sonnets received were about love, relationships, death, and growing old, themes often overlapping within the same poem.

There were a few on travel, some about writing poetry. We even received a crown , other forms, an ad for for cake, and a few rants against formal poetry in general.

It was a very interesting experience, indeed, and not an easy task. Many regular Sphereans opted not to participate (perhaps they are on vacation ). As this is the third time I've been involved in either hosting and/or judging the sonnet bake off, I knew going into it that any list Gail and I ultimately decided on would be open to criticism. That's OK .

Coming at a moment in time when a family member is seriously ill and I am trying to be in two places at once, let me just say briefly that love, death, memories and growing old, and the soul-searching these themes engender, are the stuff of sonnets, as well as of most poetry.

[Chris Childers]

I'd like to say quickly, as I think the number is 10 (not 12 or 13), so this should be all the sonnets, that, while the range of subject matter may not be as great as it could be, the range of styles *is* pretty great, and the judges have shown themselves open to a much wider variety of approaches to the sonnet form than much of the membership. I think all of the poems have something to commend them, and I've enjoyed reading and thinking about the poems, both where I have and haven't commented. What I haven't enjoyed as much is all the schoolmarmish niggling about what is or is not a sonnet.

C

[Tim Murphy]

Dana Gioia once wrote or said "There are only four great themes in poetry: love, death, faith, or the lack of it." Now, that's a typical Dana pronouncement from his neighborhood on Parnassus, but on the whole, I think he's got it right, and I look forward to the judges' decision. I have enjoyed every poem in this contest.

[Paul Connolly]

Originally Posted by Tim Murphy

Dana Gioia once wrote or said "There are only four great themes in poetry: love, death, faith, or the lack of it."

Canadian poet Al Purdy had them narrowed down to sex and death.

[S. A. Wyatt]

Originally Posted by Paul Connolly

Canadian poet Al Purdy had them narrowed down to sex and death.

And there are only 10 kinds of people: those who understand binary, and those who don't.

Why limit anything? Poetry is about life, and yes, all of those things are included in it - everything under the sun, and beyond. The part that interests me about poetry is the redefining of limits, which is a limitless process.

[Gail White]

Originally Posted by Paul Connolly

Canadian poet Al Purdy had them narrowed down to sex and death.

I remember once reading an interview with a poet whose name I've forgotten, but I remember this much: the interviewer asked him, "Now that you're over eighty, do you think about death?"

And the poet replied, "I've never not thought about it. There aren't that many subjects for poetry."