[Roger Slater]

Remember, though, that you get to submit up to 25 couplets, so if you are not over your limit, it can't hurt to throw in a few that you think are funny but which arguably don't conform exactly to the rules as she laid them down. If you make her laugh, there's always a good chance that she'll overlook technicalities. She's not going to read these as a lawyer. Funny is what counts.

As one who is familiar with the Invitation, I offer this general advice. They are playing to a broad, general audience, and I'm guessing they'll want jokes that appeal not just to poetry fans, but everyone. So don't make poetry jokes that poetry fans in particular would like, or jokes that require the reader to know something about the poem from which you take your line. Make jokes that would be funny even if the reader had never heard the first line before. It's okay to be suggestive, but not outright dirty. You can't use curse words, except an occasional "damn." If a joke is good but too dirty to win, it may get printed in the weekly blog column, The Conversational, which the editor runs each week.