One author decided to test the waters of a questionable poetry contest. He suspected that most everything that was sent in was accepted for publication. And why not? The vanity outfit had a perfect, profitable cash cow selling books containing the hopes and dreams of would-be poets.
David Taub submitted a nonsense bit of fluff that no sane editorial panel would have accepted. In fact, he tried his damndest to get rejected. Instead his poem, Flubblebop:
flobble bobble blop
yim yam widdley woooo
oshtenpopple gurby
yip yip yip
nish-nash nockle nockle . . .
and signed “Wergle Flomp” touched a seeming chord with the editorial panel. “Wergle” (David) was informed that his poem, after careful review, had made it to semi-finalist status. What followed was the sales pitch, the usual drivel touting a “highly acclaimed” anthology where the work would appear-all available at David's expense.
Following on the heels of this the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, via the Winning Writers site, was established. Poems that have been sent to vanity contests as a joke are judged and can win actual prizes.
If you are looking for information about Contests to Avoid and the Warning Signs of a Bad Poetry Contest, check out the site offerings.
It pays to be forewarned so you don't waste your time or talent chasing after expensive dreams.
Our thanks must go out to the enterprising “Wergle Flomp.”
Further Reading
Winning Writers is one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers
;-)
- Ken