Can you win this big poetry contest?
19 May 2020
KEITH JACKSON
NOOSA - The Montreal International Poetry Prize has just one winner – but the award is a big one, about K50,000 to the writer of that single poem.
The Montreal Prize is organised by the department of English at Canada’s McGill University and this year’s judge is Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Yusef Komunyakaa.
Co-director of the Prize, Professor Michael Nicholson, has asked PNG Attitude to advise Papua New Guinea’s poets that they are more than welcome to enter the contest.
But you need to hurry. The deadline for entries is Monday 1 June.
So which poem should you send? Choose the one you think is best.
But it must be no more than 40 lines. And it must not have been published previously (see below what this means).
If you wish to enter the Prize, send me an email here immediately and let me know.
PNG Attitude is in touch with the Prize organisers, so I will give you clear instructions about the best way to enter the contest.
If you want to learn more about the Montreal Prize, any one of these links will provide more information:
Montreal Prize Website
Montreal Prize - Twitter
Montreal Prize - Facebook
Montreal Prize - Instagram
After the final entry deadline on 1 June, entries are randomly allocated to members of the selection jury. The jurors do not see the author’s name or any other information about the author.
Each juror selects a handful of poems to advance to the next stage. Together, the jurors’ selections constitute the shortlist of approximately 50 poems.
All poems on the shortlist will be published in the Global Poetry Anthology. The Prize judge, Yusuf Komunyaka, reads these poems and selects the winner.
The definition of 'published' is important because it refers to any poem that has already appeared on the Internet, or in print, or has been broadcast in any format. So it must be an original, unpublished work.
If it has been published it will be ineligible for the Montreal Prize.
So, if you wish to enter, review the unpublished poems you have collected down the years and choose the one you like best.
Keep in touch with PNG Attitude for further details.
And send me that email.
Hi Keith, Just stumbled across this and it sounds like an amazing opportunity that I'd like to take part in. Please email me about the contest. Thanks.
__________
I've just sent the entry details to you, Pauline - KJ
Posted by: Pauline John | 26 May 2020 at 03:12 AM
Hi Keith, I'm interested. Thank you for this great opportunity.
Posted by: Leiao Gerega | 21 May 2020 at 07:51 AM
I am interested. Got lots of unpublished poems to choose from.
__________
The link to the Prize website is https://www.montrealpoetryprize.com - KJ
Posted by: Janice Isu | 20 May 2020 at 09:07 PM
Hi Keith - Thank you for this information.
Never hear before this is my first time to see. I'll try my best to enter my poem.
__________
The link to the Prize website is https://www.montrealpoetryprize.com - KJ
Posted by: John Titus M | 20 May 2020 at 07:51 PM
Hi Keith
This Information sounds great, kindly forward the link on my email please
Many thanks
Rose
Posted by: Rose Tongamp | 19 May 2020 at 07:49 PM
Hi Keith.
Thanks for this information.
I will contact you soon.
I wish to give a try and enter a poem.
Posted by: Simon Davidson | 19 May 2020 at 12:55 PM
Wow, this is intriguing. Never heard of a Global Poetry Anthology.
Thank you PNG Attitude for keeping in touch with organisations like the department of English at Canada's McGill University. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Stephanie Alois | 19 May 2020 at 07:32 AM