Past winner David Martin gives 4 reasons you should enter the CBC Poetry Prize

The2023 CBC Poetry Prizeis currently open for submissions.

You have until May 31, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET tosubmityour original,unpublished poem or collection of poems, up to 600 words in length.There is no minimum word requirement.

• 2023 CBC Poetry Prize is now open to Canadian poets

The winner will receive $6,000 from theCanada Council for the Arts, have their work published onCBC Booksand have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency atArtscape Gibraltar Point, a cultural hub on Toronto Island. Last year's CBC Poetry Prizewinner was P.E.I. poet Bren Simmersfor her poetry collectionSpell World Backwards.

• How Bren Simmers wrote the poems that won the 2022 CBC PoetryPrize

Back in 2014, David Martin won the CBCPoetry Prizefor his poemTar Swan. In 2018, Tar Swanbecame a published book-length narrative poem that explores the process of oil extraction through the voices for four characters living and working on the Alberta oil sands.

Martin talked toCBC Radio'sMainstreetNS about why Canadian poets should consider entering the CBC Poetry Prize.

1. It'll help refine your work

David says:"I originally had a larger manuscript, which had more story and more characters. When I was preparing for the CBCPoetry Prize, I had todistil that down into a smaller version that would meet the requirements for the word count.

It can help you present the very best version of the poem that you can create.

"It was difficult to come up with a way to give readers a sense of the arc of the story, the images and the metaphors. It can help you present the very best version of the poem that you can create."

• Explore the past winners of the CBCLiterary Prizes

2. You'll look at your writingwith new eyes

David says: "It can be nerve-wracking to send out your work. Oftentimes, you are working on these poems by yourself, privately; maybe you have one or two people read it and give some feedback.

I'm looking at my poemsmore critically.

"But it can be agood process to send your work out to a literary journal or a prize. I found thatI suddenly see my poems in a different light when I'm preparing to send them out.I'm looking at my poems more critically."

3. It introduces your work to new audiences

David says: "It can bring a broader audience to your work, and that's awonderful thing.Amy Brandon, a composer in Nova Scotia,had read my work onthe CBCand contacted me.

It can bring a broader audience to your work, and that's awonderful thing.

"She used the poem for a musical composition she was writing. That was an amazing opportunity that I wouldn't have had otherwise."

4. The winner's writing residency is unforgettable

David says: "You're in an environment surrounded by other people that are working on their own creative projects.

I got a lot of work done and started a new project. That was one of the best aspects of the prize.

"So it's just this nice energy to the space and just to have that time those 10days to really focus on your work. You can kind of block out a lot of the noise from your day-to-day life and just focus on your writing and your creative practice.

"That wasreally amazing. I got a lot of work done and started a new project. That was one of the best aspects of the prize."

David Martin's comments have been editedfor length and clarity.