swings, poems, roundabouts

Yesterday – by chance, idly clearing my poetry decks of admin – I discovered that one of my poems had been shortlisted in the Plough Poetry competition. This was a very welcome piece of news on a Thursday afternoon, and I immediately shared the news with anyone who’d listen. As you do.

But here’s the important thing. It’s easy to share our successes with folk, and that can give the impression that we’re always successful. I’m not. And I’m sure the same is true for most poets. I regularly send poems out to competitions, poems I love and which I’m really proud of, and they don’t make the cut. They disappear into the poetry void, despite my faith in them. And yes, that’s disappointing. But, but, but…

What always matters is the process of creating and crafting poems. Finding the way to say what it is you want to say as well as you can. And, beyond that, reading the work of other poets, finding work which astounds and delights you, and learning to get better at your craft. That’s at the heart of what we do. And sometimes, if we’re lucky, when we share our work at a poetry night or enter it into a competition, a person in the audience – or a poetry judge – says I really liked that one. Thank you. It’s a form of validation, a shot in the arm. And we all need that.

And we all share the news of our successes. But we all get our share of knockbacks, too. And if a knockback has knocked you sideways, take some time to kick the proverbial cat, brush the disappointment off, dust yourself down, and get back on with writing. There’ll be something wonderful just round the poetry corner. Trust me.