THIS year's McCash Scots Poetry Competition offers generous prize money of £1500 and a suitably upbeat theme for the summer of the Royal Jubilee and Olympic Games.
Entrants are asked to contemplate "The Pleasures of Hope" (the title of a poem by Lord Byron's contemporary, Thomas Campbell).
The phrase suggests many possibilities, personal and general. On the political front, for example, there's the hope the United Kingdom will be maintained, or an independent Scotland will flourish. But are the pleasures of hope ambiguous? Do we hope for too much or too little? Is travelling hopefully better than arriving?
We anticipate a wide range of responses – from the serious to the satirical, the ironic to the lyrical, the cynical to the idealistic.
Entrants may submit up to three original, unpublished, poems in Scots. They should be no longer than 30 lines and in any poetic form from sonnet to free verse. The first prize is £750; the second £350; the third £200; and there is also a prize of £200 for the best entry from someone 17 or younger.
This is the 10th year of the competition as a collaboration between The Herald and Glasgow University, and named after late poet James McCash. It is planned to include this year's winning poems in an anthology of 100 of the best entries from the decade, to be published in the autumn.
UK entries should be on A4 paper with name, address, and telephone number and/or email address marked on the reverse, and sent to McCash Scots Poetry Competition, c/o Lesley Duncan, The Herald, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB.
Entries can also be emailed to lesley.duncan@theherald.co.uk and must be included in the body of the emails and not as attachments. The closing date is Saturday, July 14.
The judges will be Professor Nigel Leask, Regius Professor of English Literature, and Professor Alan Riach, chairman of Scottish Literature, Glasgow University; and Lesley Duncan.
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