A year ago today, I received an email from the poet and story writer, Robert Nisbet. He kindly congratulated me on being long-listed for the 2020 Welsh Poetry Competition.
At the beginning of the first lockdown, a poem had come to me (not an everyday event in this house!), and I rather liked it. But if you're not a poet yourself, and not used to reading poetry, how do you know if a poem is any good? I showed it to my writers' group and to a few friends and family members, but none of them were sure either, so I sent it to the competition, to find out.
As you already know, it was long-listed. I am assured that competitions like this receive upwards of a thousand entries, to it's not an accolade that everyone gets. Not bad for a first-timer.
I'm afraid the only poem that's come to me since then involves penguins and ostriches. I'm not going to send that off.
If you want to try your hand at poetry yourself, a while ago I interviewed the very same Robert Nisbet to find out how he does it. You can read the interview here.
