Thursday 18 April 2013

Contests and Copyright Laws - I Have Some News For You

Hello again, everyone! I have some big news! I am proud to be a Canadian! I am also entering a contest for Canadian Poets!


I am going to enter a poetry contest, at Canada Writes. This contest charges a reading fee of $25, and the first place prize is $6000 cash, plus publications in
Air Canada's enRoute magazine and on the Canada Writes website, an interview on a CBC radio show, and a 2-week residency at The Banff Centre's Leighton Artists' Colony. The travelling expenses are paid for, too. Sounds pretty awesome, right? I think so. Will I win? I doubt it. But maybe, just maybe, I will. Who knows?

I do know that I will not win if I do not enter. This fact prompted me to "give it a go", and "aim for the stars"! 

When I decided to enter a submission, I needed to determine which poems I should submit. Since they only accept previously unpublished poems, I was pretty thankful that I didn't post any of my poetry on this blog, because then my poems would have been published! 

I then decided to do a bit of investigating and learning.  So, lately, I have been doing some research on publishing and copyright laws.

I have found a few good links, and I would like to share them here. 





4. Glossary of Poetic Terms - I threw this one in here since it directly relates to my book, The Life and Love of Canadian Poetry: An Interpretative View. (This book contains a glossary of literary terms, as I mentioned in my video in this post.)

    - A guide to publishers and publishing services for serious writers since 1997


Knowledge is good to have, especially BEFOREHAND! 

I am really excited, and a little nervous, and have selected two poems to enter. However, they are not long enough to meet the contest requirements. I now have to choose one or two more to include to make my submission whole. The problem is that I only think one of my poems is worthy of the first-place prize. I would like to share these poems with you, but cannot, since they will then be considered as "published"! So, I am forced to make a few decisions, and I TRULY hope that I make THE RIGHT ONES.

Wish me luck...

Once I have solved this dilemma, I will post some of my poetry in this blog. I think I will begin with some of the poetry that I wrote for others, rather than the poetry I wrote for myself. Maybe I will even make an accompanying video!

(...with better lighting...)


QUESTION FOR YOU: 
DO YOU LIKE TO READ POETRY, OR DO YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO IT?
Or, do you even have a preference? Share your thoughts, please!


4 comments:

  1. A contest! What fun! You will "win" this contest either way because it will encourage you to really engage with your writing in a different way, which will draw you deeper into the process. And look at how much you've learned already! Thanks for always sharing the great stuff you find.

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    1. Thanks for your support... I have not entered it as of today, because I STILL cannot find a poem that I deem worthy of $6000! I think I might just write a new one, and then include that one!

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  2. To tell you the truth, Lorraine, I'm not one much for poetry. I used to write it way long ago, but anymore I like pros.

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    1. One day, I might be considered a pro, and then you can say "I knew Lorraine when..."

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