Guilty
by Judy Kaber
In a recent interview, noted poet Victoria Chang stated,
We're not put on this world as poets to be famous and/or to be admired or to last. We're here to experience the joys of making art and exchanging art and ideas with other people who are alive at the same time as us. What an incredible gift to have an artist's mind, soul, and heart.
I agree with this completely. If I have a goal for my writing, it’s to be what Chang calls “a serious poet.” She defines this as someone who reads widely and deeply and who focuses seriously on writing. I spend a lot of time studying craft, learning from other poets, either through direct teaching or through analysis of their work. I use language to discover my own meaning and place in the world.
I do send my work out on a regular basis in an attempt to get it published, particularly in “top tier” journals. I can pass the desire for publications off as a hope to reach a wider audience, but that, of course, is only part of it. I’d like people to recognize my name, to understand that I’m a poet, and to enjoy my poems. At my age, I don’t expect to be a “major” poet, or even a “minor” poet in the great scheme of things, but I think these publications have helped other poets in Maine to recognize who I am, to buy my books, and to invite me to read with them.
So how do poetry contests fit into this view? Even though she didn’t win a prize, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s entry into The Lyric Year contest changed the trajectory of her life. That is not something that’s likely to happen today, even if you win a contest. I suppose winning a book prize in conjunction with other honors could push you further along on your journey, but it’s unlikely to pluck you from the wilds of Maine into the heart of the literary world.
So what’s my motivation for entering contests? I’ve entered a number of contests over the years and have won a few. Often there is money attached to the prize, but given the cost of entering, along with the small, but frequent amount I spend sending work out, the prize money hardly offsets the expense. Yes, it’s a thrill to get a check for $1,000, but it disappears fast. I’ve thought about my motivation for entering these contests and have come up with different explanations, but when it comes right down to it, it’s mostly about the kick of winning, not much different than buying a lottery ticket and scratching it off to find you’ve won $100 or more.
When it comes down to being judged a winner in a poetry contest, there’s no doubt some skill involved, some need to have a polished, effective, subtle poem, but often it’s the luck of the draw. With so many talented poets, such a variety of voices and styles, and the personal taste of judges, it’s impossible to predict which poem will win. I do get other benefits from winning a contest beyond the kick of success and the money. It provides a pat on the back for me, letting me know that I am, in fact, a writer with some ability. It also helps raise my esteem in the eyes of others and, hopefully, the poem itself is enjoyed by a wider audience. Of course, there is also the fact that I’ve lost more contests than I’ve won. I’ve learned to deal with rejection well. Maybe that’s a virtue.
But the truth is that poetry contests don’t fit easily into my belief system. My entries sit like an ugly vase on my kitchen table. I’d like to say they don’t matter to me, that I am beyond that and maybe, someday, that will be true. For now, I keep track of opportunities, and I can tell you that there are poetry contests at Frontier Poetry and Carlow University that are open in September. So throw your poem into the ring and don’t let the deadlines pass you by!
Judy Kaber’s poems have appeared in journals such as Rattle, Pleiades, december, Poet Lore, and Prairie Schooner. Her first book-length collection, Landscape with Rocks, Sky, Nails, was published in August by Fernwood Press. Her poem “The Tide’s Edge” received an Honorable Mention for the 2026 Vincent Poetry Prize. She is a past poet laureate of Belfast, Maine.
