Looking for a different type of poetry contest? My favorite poetry site, GotPoetry? runs a monthly poetry contest that”s just getting off the ground. This is not your typical “send us your poem and our learned judges will read it and choose the very best for the prize, oh, and don”t forget your $10 reading fee” type of contest. Instead, you submit your poem through the Finished Poems section of the site, in the Contest category. Each month there”s a different prize, and each month there”s a different theme. This month”s theme is “Imitation Poems” – poems written in imitation or homage of another poet – any other poet. Do a pastiche of cummings, a sendup of Sandburg, a rewriting of Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening.. you must state the poem and the poet that you are imitating in order to qualify.

The judging method is – reader voting. That”s right. Poems are rated and commented upon by readers, and the highest ranking poem at the end of the voting period is the winner. It”s all true to the spirit of slam poetry, which depends on ratings by members of the audience to choose the winner. The deadline for the current contest is Dec 31, 2006, with the winner announced January 2, 2007. The prize – $25.00 paid via paypal, a one month site subscription, a really cool GotPoetry sticker, and 50 karma points.

And you don”t have to enter – or be a member – to vote on the entries. Drop by, read a bit, rate a poem, enjoy. It”s all in good fun and the spirit of promoting poetry.