by Evan Mantyk
A strange phenomenon in recent years, probably dating back to the mid 20th century and with roots in Whitman, is an aversion toward rhyme and meter in poetry among poetry establishments purporting to promote poetry and award good poetry. It has now gotten to the point where poets are often specifically told something to the effect of “do not submit rhyming poetry.”
Given these circumstances, I have put together the list below of poetry contests still honoring and recognizing the beauty and value of traditional English poetry, which often contains rhyme and meter.
The Society of Classical Poets is now offering a $2,000 prize for poems with meter and other traditional techniques such as rhyme. We are also offering a high school competition and a translation competition similarly valuing traditional poetry.
Below are other contests awarding traditional poetry. If you have any to add or any comments on the below contests, please share the information in the comments section below.
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Poetry Contests
- The Society of Classical Poets 2022 Poetry Competitions
- 100 Days of Dante Poetry Contest
- Better Than Starbucks Sonnet Contest
- Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest
- Southern Shakespeare Company Sonnet Contest
- Frost Farm Poetry Prize
- 2021 Kim Bridgford Memorial Sonnet Crown Contest
- West Chester University Sonnet Contest (Note: There are other poetry contests listed here as well, but only the sonnet contest meets the SCP’s criteria for listing here.)
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Thanks for the info, Evan, and for your taking the trouble.
Each year, the Ohio Poetry Day Association sponsors a poetry competition. There are about 25 separate contests, for poems of different types or on different themes. All the contest have small cash prizes. One of the contests is for a sonnet. In 2021, the prizes for the sonnet contest were $50, $30 and $20. Other states may have something similar to this.
Evan,
Please remove the Margaret Reid contest from your list. Without doing any research, I entered the contest some years ago and when I saw the winning entry I realized that the category, “Poem in a traditional style” (also referred to as “a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style”) is a complete joke and fraud, at least for poets who actually write such poetry. If you doubt my word, simply take a look at the poem awarded first prize in this category in 2018.
https://winningwriters.com/past-winning-entries/villanelle-for-the-wound
A villainous Villanelle, indeed.
James, it ain’t no villanelle… but ain’t it just so perfectly diverse?
How could it not win?
Ah, I see. They want merely the vague overture of tradition, but nothing more. Here is the 2020 winner: https://winningwriters.com/past-winning-entries/ghazals-connected-as-though-cargo-freights
It has been removed. Thank you, Mr. Tweedie.
-Evan
I could not finish reading it.
Further to the discussion on traditional poetry forms in contests, one wonders at the brief given to judges. I have several contests in which ‘all forms of poetry’ were welcome. Some time after stoically accepting that my work may not be up to standard, I developed the sneaky feeling that it was the entrance fee that was welcome rather than the carefully crafted, metrical verse on which I had laboured. On comparing my efforts against the winning poems, I thought that my work at least displayed craftsmanship.
Perhaps the poetry they want chimes with the dumbed-down anti-culture of today—the more bizarre, the better.
Extremely useful list Evan – thanks. And James – wow!!! I followed your link!!! What drivel!!!
You are absolutely right.If this piece of deadpan prose is what the ” Classical Poets” consider fit to sit alongside the masters of English rhyming ,metric poetry,then a REAL poet would be wasting his/ her time dabbli g in such a faux-contest.Want to read a truly GREAT narrative poem about a truly great ruffian
in the truly great English language? Try Masefield’s ” Everlasting Mercy”…and don’t fritter away your time on strained,anguished ,neurotic agonisings.Oona Jean
Thank you for your helpful information.
Another contest I know is Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest sponsored by Poets & Patrons Inc.
Two categories (traditional and modern sonnets), entry fee is free and the 1st, the 2nd and the 3rd places are given cash prizes $50, $30 and $15 respectively.
https://www.poetsandpatrons.net/sonnet-contest
(But I only know the titles of the winners. So I cannot say its quality…)