how many poems do you anticipate sending on to billy collins? 20? 100? half the submissions or so? billy collins' name does matter to me, but I'm trying to be realistic about him actually reading my work

i think he will read everything. he is a real person and takes this very seriously.

The Sycamore Editors will screen the poems that are entered into the contest. We have a rigorous process where each poem gets (at the very least) three different readings by three different editors. The finalists (usually numbering 15-20) will be sent to Mr. Collins. However, Mr. Collins has asked that should he not find a poem worthy of the prize from among the finalists that we send him, then we are to send him another batch.

15-20 poems is not a whole lot. It seems BC will never see 98% of the entries. Would it burden him so terribly to invest a few more hours in the project?

I share Amy's wish, but it seems far far from reality. Sadly, it seems most poem contests take advantage of such good wishes. Go ahead and pay your fee, but the odds are long, say, one in fifty, that Billy Collins will ever even glance at your poem.

if you write a good poem he will. :)

I appreciate Amy's positive attitude, but her second point is a completely different position from her first. There is a world of difference between "I think he will read everything" and he will read "a good poem," with a very particular and practical definition of "good poem," (i.e. approved by grad student screeners) while the intervening remark of someone in the know indicates he will read only a tiny fraction of the poems entered (less than 5%? less than 2%?).

I'm not picking on the Sycamore Review. I realize this is business as usual for poetry contests. And I do appreciate SR being honest. But once upon a time I would have anted up in good faith that Billy Collins would be reading my work--as Amy herself first seemed to believe. The vast majority of the judging, however, will be done by others, probably good sincere people, but not the name that gives the contest its luster. Yet they are the ones who really define the contest.

I was under the impression that BC would be reading all the poems UNTIL i read the comment by Mehdi Okasi who explained the procedure - BC will be reading the finalists...so, while my orginal point changed a bit..the bottom line is - if you make the cut, BC will read them..if not, he won't. Graduate screeners or not - this contest is not so different from others..the only difference is the final cut may actually be read by someone very important to the poetry world...good luck.

I've been submitting works to juried shows for years (both visual and poetry). My process is to have faith in my work. In the "For:" part of my check, I write: "Donation". This way I feel Im doing a little something for the art world AND not placing myself in a situation where I have an expectation. Expectations are nothing more than pre-meditated resentments. Just write and leave the rest to the art gods...

I've been submitting works to juried shows for years (both visual and poetry). My process is to have faith in my work. In the "For:" part of my check, I write: "Donation". This way I feel Im doing a little something for the art world AND not placing myself in a situation where I have an expectation. Expectations are nothing more than pre-meditated resentments. Just write and leave the rest to the art gods...

If you've ever screened contest poems you will agree that it would be naive in the extreme to expect the judge to read all entries. Collins's offer to read a second batch if he doesn't love anything the screeners sent him in the first batch is very generous.