Bowing and scraping
In Competition No. 3011 you were invited to submit a disgustingly flattering poem in heroic couplets in praise of a…
Monster mash-up
In Competition No. 3010, a nod to the late, great George Romero, you were invited to provide an extract from…
Quotidian
In Competition No. 3009 you were invited to submit a poem about a domestic object. I set this challenge…
Ig Nobel
In Competition No. 2970 you were invited to supply an extract from an Ig Nobel Prize-winner’s speech that describes the…
The law is an ass
In Competition No. 2950 you were invited to propose a new and ludicrous piece of legislation along with a justification…
Drinking partner
In Competition No. 2949 you were invited to submit a poem about sharing a drink with a famous writer. I…
Wild thing
In Competition No. 2948 you were invited to step into the skin of a species of your choice and provide…
Olden but golden
In Competition No. 2947 you were asked to submit a poem in praise of old age. Old age gets a…
Post mortem
In Competition No. 2946 you were invited to supply a verse obituary of a well-known person who has died in…
Exit strategy
In Competition No. 2945 you were invited to suggest remarks guaranteed to get rid of a guest who is outstaying…
Much ado about nothing?
In Competition No. 2944 you were invited to imagine what characters from Shakespeare’s plays would have made of this year’s…
Mismatch
In Competition No. 2943 you were invited to submit a review of a well-known work of literature that has been…
Gender reassignment
In Competition No. 2942 you were invited to submit a rhyme incorporating the lines ‘What are little girls made of?’…
Short story
In Competition No. 2941 you were invited to supply a short story entitled ‘Diary of a Superfluous Man’. Turgenev’s Tchulkaturin;…
Seuss talk
In Competition No. 2940 you were invited to supply Dr Seuss’s take on the US presidential race. Given his taste…
Preposterous pet
In Competition No. 2939 you were invited to submit a poem about a famous person and an unlikely pet. There’s…
Gray matter
In Competition No. 2938, to mark the tercentenary of Thomas Gray’s birth, you were invited to submit an ‘Elegy on…
For their eyes only
In Competition No. 2937 you were invited to submit extracts from the diaries of the famous that their writers did…
Country music
In Competition No. 2936 you were invited to propose lyrics for a new British national anthem. Tom Shakespeare recently suggested…
Valentine’s triolet
In Competition No. 2935 you were invited to submit a Valentine’s triolet. A famous example of the triolet is Frances…
Now we are rich
In Competition No. 2934 you were invited to submit a poem suitable for inclusion in Now We are Rich. You…
Woe is me
In Competition No. 2933 you were invited to submit a blurb for a misery memoir. Thanks to Tom Dulake for…
Doublespeak
In Competition No. 2932 you were invited to submit up to 16 lines of verse that are the fruit of…
Going mental
In Competition No. 2931 you were invited to submit a psychiatric report on a well-known figure in literature. Shakespearean characters…
Macaronic
In Competition No. 2930 you were invited to submit up to 16 lines of macaronic verse. A dictionary of poetic…
