My li’l sis has kindly pointed out to me that Big Issue In The North are running a poetry competition.

It seems like a pretty good competition – the winner is published in the magazine, interviewed, and you get books and CDs and a certificate too. There’s an entry fee, which is £2, but you can enter 7 poems for a tenner, and as all the money goes to charity anyway, I’d argue it’s all rather civilised. And before you ask, no, it doesn’t seem that you have to live in the North of England to enter.

I’m not sure if I’ll enter – I haven’t written much poetry since the inevitable teenage poems, and I’m wary of not doing anything overly purple or riddled with angst (which, if I’m honest, probably describes far too much of my poetry), but it’s for a good cause, so I am thinking about it…

Anyway, let me know if you have a go (and if you win or are a runner-up or anything like that), and thanks to my wee sis for the tip!