I Started a Joke Contest Results - Maria Williams's Blog

A huge thank you to all the 35 poets who entered my contest. The judges and I are in full agreement that even though the theme I set was extremely hard, you talented poets did not disappoint one little bit. Unfortunately this being a Premium Contest we were only allowed one winner and two place getters.

So after much deliberation we went back to the original theme that I had set namely - ‘I started a Joke which made people Cry - Laugh and then Live’ and also in keeping with my notation that I was partial to rhyme.

We’ve decided on a surprise prize for the fourth place getter which unfortunately had no provision to list - see below

I think all of you would be in full agreement that Vijay Pandit ticked all the boxes with his winning entry ‘Joke was on him’.

 The fact that it being a true story made it all the more powerful. This tragic story of a Ponzi scheme which made people rejoice for a while, then cry and in the end all came crashing down on the crook himself. The ultimate Joke was on him. A story which was very close to my theme sample poem.

Congratulations Vijay!

The conclusion that I gained from this was an awareness of Ponzi Schemes and the tragic ending that left us all feeling for the poor people including his sons and wife.

Victor Buhagiar, an amazing story teller got Second Place in his entry ‘Atonement of a Joker’. Again the poem followed the theme well, portraying a man who with his ill-gotten gains still managed to rectify a situation with his final solution of giving it all away to the poor.

Congratulations Victor!

Akkina Downing the third place getter captured the theme well with her fun write ‘Tears - I started a Joke’. It made us all smile and the very strong conclusion was ‘never to judge a book by its cover’.

Congratulations Akkina!

Among all the entries was one poet who impressed us with his amazing write as well ‘Sweet Poison, Mine’ by Greg Barden.

Now here is the surprise:

Congratulations Greg Baden!

Your entry also deserved a look and we decided to award another prize of Lariese Purely Organic products worth AUD$50. Once we have your mailing details that will be off to you too.

Please feel free to include ‘Placed Fourth’ on your entry.

You all will be receiving your prize of Lariese Purely Organic proawducts by mail shortly. 

You can visit the website www.lariese.com and see the products there if you wish and can follow 'Lariese' on FB.

All postage charges are taken care of and the tracking number will be Soup Mailed or emailed to you. Please be sure look out for it as I cannot be responsible for its delivery once it’s posted.

Many thanks for your entries - your efforts are much appreciated.

And finally a huge thank you to Silent One and Carole Duet I leaned heavily on these two amazing guys for the final selections, and am very grateful for their input and help. Especially since it was the first contest that I had run. They were invaluable in their support.

Let me also take this opportunity of wishing all you amazing contestants a Happy and Safe Christmas.

Maria