Many forms of poetry have a ludic quality to them, an element of game playing that tests the ingenuity of the writer and gives added pleasure to the reader. The next Writing Magazine poetry competition is for acrostic pieces, where a ‘hidden’ message exists if you read down the left hand column of letters in your poem as well as reading across the page. Each line starts with a new letter from the message. Usually the poem comments on the message or deals with another angle on the same subject.
One of the easiest forms of acrostic places a person’s name, perhaps the poet’s, down the left hand column, but to add extra interest to the competition, you are asked not to use your own name – or, indeed, that of another living person. It’s fine to take a character from a book or show, so Alice in Wonderland or Nick Bottom could appear in character, or feature a historical character, such as Florence Nightingale or Julius Caesar. You could focus on an inanimate object, find a familiar phrase, or select a few names of herbs, makes of car, chocolate brands or whatever.