Competition
Culture shock?
In Competition 2829 you were invited to imagine what Philip Larkin might have made of the news that Hull has…
That was the year that was
In Competition 2828 you were invited to submit a retrospective verse commentary on 2013. Reasons to be cheerful are, apparently,…
Dear Santa
In Competition 2827 you were invited to submit a Christmas list, in verse, in the style of the poet of…
Winter’s tale
In Competition 2826 you were invited to submit nonsense verse on a wintry theme. The line between sense and nonsense…
Picture this
In Competition 2825 you were invited to supply a poem for a well-known painting of your choice. The poet and…
Sporting double
In Competition 2824 you were invited to submit double clerihews about a well-known sporting figure past or present. The…
Pet project
In Competition 2823 you were invited to submit a school essay or poem written at the age of eight by…
Shakespeare does Dallas
In Competition 2822 you were invited to submit an extract from a scene from a contemporary soap opera (television or…
Georgic
In Competition 2821 you were invited to supply a poem that provides instruction or useful information. This challenge was, of…
Postscript
In Competition 2820 you were invited to supply a postscript to any well-known novel. This challenge was suggested by…
Buttoned up or open neck?
In Competition 2819 you were invited to write a poem either in free verse mocking rhymed, metrical verse or in…
Literary merger
In Competition 2818 you were asked to merge two literary classics and provide a synopsis of the new title. You…
Proverbial wisdom?
In Competition 2817 you were asked to provide a poem, in the manner of Harry Graham’s Perverted Proverbs, questioning the…
Let’s twist
In Competition 2816 you were invited to submit a short story with an ingenious twist at the end. I was…
Winner: "Psychopaths of Glory — Unlocking the Bastard Within
In Competition 2815 you were invited to contribute to the booming genre of self-help by proposing a new title guaranteed…
Genesis
In Competition 2814 you were invited to describe how a great writer stumbled upon an idea that he or she…
Poetic pitch
In Competition 2813 you were invited to submit an application in verse, from the poet of your choice, for the…
Bookish
In Competition No. 2812 you were invited to provide a poem celebrating bookshops. Space is tight, which leaves room only…
New word order
In Competition 2811 you were invited to take an existing word and alter it by a) adding a letter; b)…
Light touch
In Competition 2810 you were invited to write a light-hearted poem about a serious subject. I suggested you take a…
Pretentious, moi?
In Competition 2809 you were invited to submit a letter liberally sprinkled with evidence of an imperfect grasp of foreign…
The new black
In Competition 2808 you were invited to invent a new addition to the genre that already includes Tartan Noir and…
Hatchet job
In Competition 2807 you were invited to submit a hatchet job by a well-known author of your choice on a…
Last word
In Competition 2806 you were invited to submit alternative endings for well-known novels or poems. A Farewell to Arms,…
Cringeworthy
In Competition 2805 you were invited to submit toe-curlingly bad analogies. Congratulations! You obliged with a stream of analogies glorious…
