Mind your language
In Competition No. 3045 you were invited to provide a poem about euphemisms. You avoided politics and sex (mostly),…
Let’s talk about sex
In Competition No. 3044 you were invited to provide a lesson in the facts of life courtesy of a well-known…
Poison pen
In Competition No. 3043 you were invited to provide a short story inspired by the Salisbury poisonings. Ian McEwan,…
Carroll in La La Land
In Competition No. 3042, a challenge inspired by the American parodist Frank Jacobs’s 1975 version of ‘Jabberwocky’, ‘As If Lewis…
Creative spark
In Competition No. 3041, to mark the centenary of the birth of Muriel Spark, you were invited to submit a…
Averse to verse
In Competition No. 3040 you were invited to submit a poem against poets or poetry. Plato started it, but…
Doing words
In Competition No. 3039, which was inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s phenomenally successful memoir Eat, Pray, Love, you were invited to…
Six plus
In Competition No. 3038 you were invited to provide a (longer) sequel to the six-word story ‘For sale: baby shoes,…
A to B
In Competition No. 3037 you were invited to take a song by Abba or the Beatles and rewrite the lyrics…
On the way out
In Competition No. 3036 you were invited to provide a resignation letter in the style of a well-known author. I…
That lovin’ feeling
In Competition No. 3035 you were invited to provide a poem entitled ‘The Love Song of [insert name of a…
Occasional verse
In Competition No. 3034 you were invited to provide a poem written by a poet laureate present or past on…
Presidential patter
In Competition No. 3033 you were invited to take as your first line ‘I am the very model of a…
Documentary
In Competition No. 3032 you were invited to provide a poem about passports. While the news that British passports…
Rude food
In Competition No. 3031 you were invited to provide a review by a restaurant critic that is tediously loaded with…
First thoughts
In Competition No. 3030 you were invited to provide a poem entitled ‘January’. I mentioned William Carlos Williams, R.S.…
Best foot forward
In Competition No. 3029 you were invited to provide a new year’s resolution (or more than one) in verse. …
Season’s greetings
In Competition No. 3028 you were invited to submit lines for a Christmas card courtesy of well-known poets. Poets moved…
Shipping lines
In Competition No. 3027 you were invited to submit a poem inspired by the Shipping Forecast. Life-saver, lullaby, poetic…
Double dactylic
In Competition No. 3026 you were invited to submit topical double dactyls. The double dactyl was dreamed up in…
Let us pray
In Competition No. 3025 you were invited to submit a Lord’s Prayer for the 21st century. One of my…
Brown studies
In Competition No. 3024 you were invited to submit a short story in the style of Dan Brown. This comp,…
Mixing it
In Competition No. 3023 you were invited to submit cringeworthy portmanteau words. The word portmanteau was first used in this…
A poem for Boris
In Competition No. 3022 you were invited to compose a safe poem that Boris Johnson could have on hand to…
Northern frights
In Competition No. 3021 you were invited to compose terrifying lullabies. Lorca wondered why ‘Spain reserved the most potent songs…
