Are you a poet and don't know it?

is a small headline on page 7 of the latest Berwickshire. This is a project to attract poets in Berwickshire to send in contributions verse for an anthology due to be published in October to raise money for a local charity. Huttonian has some experience in this type of project having put together an anthology of diplomatic verse ( somewhat oxymoronic concept suggested Mike Longley, the Norn Iron poetic giant) Oxymoron or not, having paid for the production up front the book made several thousand pounds profit for three charities working overseas. And it was reviewed in the New Statesman-surprisingly well, given that organ's usually ill concealed dislike for government institutions and their stuffy and unimaginative lackeys. I suspect the problem in Berwickshire will be persuading diffident closet versifiers to send in their contributions. The High Schools are a potential rich vein of literary talent and we are hoping that we can attract prize winning poetry as a result of in-school competitions-the glittering prize being publication and an invitation to read some of their work at the launch of the anthology at a performance poetry event.

I am hopeful that local bloggees have unpublished master/mistresspieces lurking in some dusty drawer or can find the inspiration to put mouse to Word: 30 lines maximum , theme unimportant but ideally a Merse connotation, however contrived; free verse is fine, scanning more important than rhyme, humour particularly welcome

More details via the Comments to Huttonian e-mail link

(Image is of the dip ditties publication)

Labels: Berwickshire Poetry, Calling all poets

  ¶ 10:59 AM