Posted on by mark

Cult Challenge: January 2024: “Poems for Wonderland”

And THE WINNERS ARE:

I’m pleased to be able to announce that the winning poets, who will see their poem in this sumptuous book, are:

      1. Philippa Hatton-Lepine
      2. Rhiannon Lewis
      3. Margaret Royall
      4. Phil Santus
      5. Jennifer Schneider
      6. Kate Young
      7. Greta Ross
      8. Gwen Sayers
      9. Beverly Frydman
      10. David Punter
      11. Dawn Gorman
      12. Russel E. Willis
      13. Tina MacNaughton
      14. Kerry Darbishire
      15. Patricia M Osborne
      16. Chris Hemingway
      17. Isabel Miles
      18. Cassia Stevens
      19. Sharron Green
      20. Ceinwen E Cariad Haydon
      21. Stephen Bone
      22. Felice Hardy
      23. Oz Hardwick
      24. Liz Kendall
      25. Mandy Willis
      26. Christine Tokunaga

The Anthology will be published in all of it’s full colour poshness, in July 2024.

Congratulations to all that were included and many thanks to everybody that wrote a poem for this.

There have been so many versions and interpretations of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland over the years, but the original illustrations created by Sir John Tenniel have always felt definitive to me.

What I have always loved about the books is the surreal sense of, well, Wonder they created in me when I read them as a kid, and I couldn’t think of anything better this month as the basis for a challenge.

So this month (and as we are late launching this – you have until the end of February to submit your entry / entries) I would like you to write a poem that captures the spirit of Alice in Wonderland. Your work can include characters from the original stories, or you can create your own wonderfully weird characters or situations too.

The poem can be of any length or style, and the aim is to publish a rather gorgeous book in July that not only contains some of the Tenniel illustrations, but also a selection of poems influenced by them and by Lewis Carroll.

Here are some of the images that may appear in the wee book:

To be clear:

    1. Write a Poem in the spirit of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland
    2. The poem can be of any type or style and should reflect his approach, characters and imagination, but should be entirely your own

Rules:

    1. There are no length constraints
    2. You must be a Cult Member to submit your poem – sending it to competition@hedgehogpress.co.uk
    3. Send the poem by 11.59pm on the 29th February 2024

The best poems/responses will be included in a wee book to be published in July 2024