Announcing the first annual 2010 Charles Prize for Poetry. Bold and pretentious name aside, the award will be given to the writer who submits for consideration the most outstanding poem within the context of health and medicine.
Open to everyone (patients, doctors, nurses, students, etc.). Limit 1 or 2 entries per person.
Poems should be related to experiencing, practicing, or reflecting upon a medical, scientific, or health-related matter.
The winner will be selected by a panel of three judges, including me. These other judges may or may not be Nobel Laureates, you never know, but all appreciate poetry. I may ask for your permission to post a copy of your poem on this blog as we go, with or without attribution as you wish.
Is such an eponymous contest grandiose? Yes. Does the limited poetry I’ve written carry the gravitas needed to make me an authority on the subject? No way.
But should your poem be selected as the winner, you shall receive a plaque, an award of $500, and a tasty cherry tomato from my garden. Seriously. At least one person has written that winning the cherry tomato is more important to her than all the gold in the world. I’m sorry that my budget is not higher, but I thought I could swing $500 without enlisting sponsorship. Who needs an iPhone anyway?
So have fun, find inspiration, and send your entry to:
drcharles.examining *at* gmail.com
Contest closes August 31st.
More information here.
