The International Proverse Poetry Prize was founded in 2016 by Dr. Gillian Bickley and Dr. Verner Bickley. It is open to poets aged eighteen and over without restriction of nationality, residence or citizenship. Single Poems in any form or style can be submitted on any subject or on the theme suggested by the judges interpreted any way the poet chooses.
Winners receive publication in our series of annual Proverse Poetry Prize anthologies Mingled Voices. First, Second and Third place winners are highlighted in the front pages as also are those receiving Special Mentions by the judges. Other poets who also have entered thought-provoking work are awarded Places in the year’s anthology as a prize.
Brief biographies of those poets published in the year’s Mingled Voices are included in the anthology, as well as notes on the inspirations and backstories of their work. Our Mingled Voices series of anthologies are launched at our Proverse Spring Reception at the Helena May in April each year.
The entry period is from 7 May to 30 June each year. Entries may be made via Submittable (preferred) and directly to Proverse Hong Kong from 7 May to 30 June each year. Full Terms and Conditions will be uploaded to the Proverse website no later than April each year. In the meantime, the previous year’s entry details remain on the website for information and provide good guidance. Please check back from April each year or subscribe (below) to receive important updates of how and when to enter.
Praise for Mingled Voices
‘An intriguing despatch from the front lines. – If, in Shelley’s famous phrase, poets are the ‘unacknowledged legislators of the world’, then perhaps these days they are the non-credentialed journalists of the inner experience of the pandemic.’
Jeff Streeter, when Director of the British Council, Hong Kong
‘One of the greatest gifts poetry offers is the realisation that we are not alone in the world – that our own lives, thoughts and experiences matter and are reflected in others. Poetry finds its most important place in times of greatest need. The challenges we face currently…seem to weigh so very heavily. For me, as a poet and as a reader, it is in these times that I turn to poetry to help me to reflect not only on the joy and beauty we can experience in the world around us, but also to remind me of our extraordinary ability, throughout the eons, as human beings, to always try to lean into the light. I commend the editors, and all of the poets in these pages, for raising a lantern in the darkness so that people…can continue to find human connection, solace and hope through the gift of poetry in our world.’
Anne Casey, Australia, First Prize Winner, Proverse Poetry Prize 2020
‘It is wonderful that Proverse has created such a community of writers, that we can read and appreciate each other’s poetry, and that it has been published and distributed to the world.’
Joanna Radwańska-Williams, First prize winner, Proverse Poetry Prize 2021
‘Mingled Voices 7 is such a splendid production… such a distinguished collection of writers and their works ̶ a collection that one sees nowhere else I think. It is good to see old favourites there and I look forward to meeting new talents. It is unusual, and rewarding, to learn about the writers and the genesis.’
Margaret Clarke, Proverse Prizes Honorary Advisor
‘Mingled Voices 6 brings together diverse voices from across the world in an inspiring anthology – an anthology that, with each hidden gem, sustains the reader with its well-crafted beauty.’
Charles Lowe, PhD, Associate Professor/Dean, United International College, Zhuhai, China
‘The richness of the themes explored in Mingled Voices 6 and the compelling ways in which they emerge manifest the power of words. Quoting Joy al-Sofi in ‘Words’ , “Do they just connect/ Or do they separate?/ A bridge always goes both ways.” I believe, as Joy al-Sofi writes, that words can both unite and separate people, but I am certain that poetry can help us come together and heal, as we remove our shields, reimagine a better world, and inspire one another in shared humanity. The bridge of poetry will always connect those who are looking for shelter, and those who offer a helping hand.’
Paola Caronni, Proverse Prize Winner 2020
Past Winners of the Proverse Poetry Prize
Click on the boxes below to view the Past Winners of the Proverse Poetry Prize by year.
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