£1,000 prize for Retford poetry competition

Entry is completely free and anyone, young or old, can have a go - beginners too.

The best poem will win £1,000 cash and you can send up to three entries, which must be no more than 25 lines (each blank line counts as one line) and 160 words each.

A United Press spokesman said: “It can be about something or someone from the poet’s home area.”

“We find that poems written from personal observation and experience are the most heartfelt and expressive, so we’re expecting some great entries from Worksop and other towns in Notts.”

The contest is designed to encourage ordinary people to write poetry – to both express themselves and be more creative.

Added the spokesman: “Last year’s winner was from Sheffield and previous winners came from Oxford, Stafford, Rotherham and Merseyside.”

“Maybe this year the £1,000 will go to a poet from Retford. Winning poems have been about a river, a tower, a local character, village life and local history.”

The closing date is December 31st 2011 - send to “Local Poem”, United Press Ltd, Admail 3735, London, EC1B 1JB.