This past spring, I was a volunteer judge for the annual short story and poetry competition for the Florida Writers Association (I think volunteers are randomly selected from members; I don’t have any English/Journalism degrees and I’m not a club officer or anything; that’s the only thing that makes sense). I’m grateful for the new experience.
The prompt was “create an illusion” and winners’ works were published in a single volume. Adult and youth entries were considered separately; poetry had a maximum line restriction, prose had a word limit.
Some works were stunning; others left me thinking “What the hell did I just read?”
While reading submissions, I noticed something interesting:
- A majority of adult entries (83%) were prose
- A majority of youth entries (93%) were poetry
Basically, adults defaulted into straightforward dialogue and monologue, whereas the young communicated in verse.
Interesting indeed.
Duri Rolvsson 
That’s an interesting find indeed. I’ve always been meaning to be a part of contest readings or at least a slush pile of some sort, just so I could learn more about the craft and see what’s out there on a regular basis. I envy your experience. Thanks for sharing!
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Interesting indeed… I wrote poetry in my teens/early 20s but wouldn’t confident/able to do it anymore.
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