Poetry Contests: Does Age Matter?
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Recently, I posted a prize announcement with an age limit of 40. Someone commented, “why 40?”
Well, what is so magical about that age? The Yale Younger Series requires entrants to be under 40, too. Of course, there are contests for people with one book already — we could assume they are over 40 since they have a book — and at least one contest for women over 40 or 50. However, I think it’s safe to say that the majority of contests with age restrictions are looking for younger poets.
Why?
Something about that doesn’t seem right to me. Numerous people are starting new paths in life at an older age. When will these prizes for ‘younger’ poets reflect that?
Since I look at poetry submissions all the time with no idea of the poet’s age, I tend to consider ‘younger’ to mean ‘newer’ or ‘greener’ as opposed to age 21 versus age 50. A newbie 50-year-old poet can make the same poetry mistakes as a newbie 21-year-old poet. A more experienced 21-year-old poet may not make as many mistakes as a newbie 50-year-old poet.
What do you think? Does age matter when it comes to contests?
- May 19th
Funny you should raise this issue, Deb. At 41, I am a little bugged when I can’t enter an “under 40″ contest.
Sigh. As one who is on the cusp of turning 40, I do resent being considered an “older” poet… I was 27 when I realized how much I loved writing poetry and really committed myself to working on the craft, so I am one of those who got a “late start”.
I do have problems with lumping poets of certain “age groups” together, similar to the comment you expressed above about “newbie poets” … I probably made a lot of mistakes at 27 that some chronologically younger poets were making when they were undergrads.
I am 32, and I really feel like the clock is ticking.
I only have 8 years left!
Yes, age limits always seem a little odd to me in the world of poetry, or any art….
However, Deborah, something to think about for many of your readers. Carlow University has a first book contest for women writers over 40 who have not published a first book. — I think that interesting.
I didn’t even get started until I was 50. Good thing I’m still 19 in my head, where ‘younger’ and ‘older ‘ thoughts coexist peacefully.
I’m 25, but I feel like I won’t have a collection competitive enough for a major contest until I’m 40!
With the proliferation of contests, age limits don’t really matter — there’s always another to try if you’ve aged out of say, the Yale series. The Poetry Foundation has a contest for the older unpublished poet…
Yes, age matters. age is what we have, it is sometimes the only thing we have. To feel life at 30, 35, and then 40, not to mention all the years before or those to come, well it is different.
At 30, the memories of my 10th year sound and resound with a certain special trumpet. While now at 36, I remember them and hear a sound made up of all the days between those ages.
It is an honor to be given a perimeter of age. What a young woman or man sees, hears, smells in the world at any given moment in their life, and then later what they see when they are old, those days spent in the rain or walking their children to school, the days spent in life and what you did there, that is the crux of poetry.
And for all of us who haven’t gotten a book out, or fine tuned our style, well, what an relief it will be when it does come our turn. Maybe at 50 the song of my 19th year and what the world offered me will resound with both the crescendo and a whisper in the ear.
I fail to understand what chronological age has to do with creativity. I’ve read poetry written by both young & seasoned poets that resounded with me. All poets write from different POV and different points in the arc of life.
@ Karen, Thanks. I knew there were some contests like that and could not remember any when I wrote my post.
@ Nick, Yep!
@ New Zoo and Bernadette — Exactly!
@ Lisa, Good points. Ever more reason to have more and more contests without age limits. =-)
I’m giving up the contest cycle of abuse. No more contests for me, only open reading periods. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting a manuscript published.
I will be 40 in less than 2 years. What is that contest or journal for over40 year olds.
I don’t write often or send often.
I think I started late too but so did older fiends.