Finding the funny bone
Polish your comic poems for this month‘s competition so they scrub up nicely, advises Alison Chisholm
Alison Chisholm
POETRY LANUCH
Being funny is a serious business. Working as a stand-up comedian is not a job for the fainthearted. Writing poems that will make readers smile, snigger or laugh aloud is a far more difficult task than writing narrative, emotion-based or lyrical poems.
The winner in Writing Magazine‘s competition for humorous poetry needs to be doubly successful. As with any poetry competition, meticulous crafting is a prerequisite, but this is compounded by the particular demands of the subject matter. Your poem has to be funny; but everyone has a different idea of what is and is not funny. You are unlikely to delight everyone with your ‘take ‘ on humour – unless your approach and delivery of the material are so brilliant that readers will wonder at your amazing skills, whether your own interpretation of comedy appeals to them or not.