the computation of the competition

Choosing a winner is hard. As Robert has pointed, out, the mere fact of a winner is often enough to make everyone else feel like a failure, and no one wants to contribute to that. In setting this little comp I aimed to achieve several quite disparate things:

1. Get rid of my spare copy of Poetry London
2. inspire people to write entertainingly about something in a small vein
3. spark off a train of thought about how people do engage with poetry, and maybe learn something about the role it plays in our lives and imaginations
4. pilot the whole competition idea, as it's something I've thought of doing before, and I have another one lined up for October.

So here's how we've succeeded:

1. Yes, there is a winner! There could have been three or so winners, but I've winnowed it down to one.
2. Not as many entries as I would have liked, and some of them a bit short on the old context, revelation & sharing front, but there is always next time. Quink's entry was much missed but here in Baroque Mansions we do understand the imperatives of paintwork.
3. Well, I was interested but not really surprised, yet... however, the signs are very good! Clearly poems are playing a formative role in our imaginations, our life choices and in how we experience our experiences. (Mind you, thinking about the poems people have made this claim of, I'm not so sure that's a good thing!)
4. Definitely. There will be a theme, and I'm not sure how hard I should make it. Tell me: how hard should I make it?