National Grammar Day is Thursday, March 4. It’s time to get ready for ACES’ annual National Grammar Day Tweeted Poetry contest. This year we are asking you to celebrate by submitting your poems of 280 characters or less.
We have done haiku, limerick, quatrain, and this year we are keeping it open-ended. The caveat: whatever form of poetry you write, it must fit in a tweet-with room for the hashtag.
The contest is officially open, and the deadline to submit is noon EST, Thursday, March 3. Tweet a grammar-related poem using #GrammarDay to be considered.
Winners will be announced on March 4, the date chosen for National Grammar Day because it is a complete and grammatically correct sentence when written “March forth.” As in, “march forth and celebrate National Grammar Day.”
Our celebrity judges might pay attention to meter or rhyme, some might prefer free verse to haiku, but submit in whatever poetry form makes you happy. Entries will be mostly judged on how well they make a point about the language, which can include grammar, usage, typos, writing, and editing.
The winning poet will receive a variety of goodies perfect for any editor.
Read the 2022 Grammar Day Contest entries here: https://wke.lt/w/s/SNj8fX
Here are the judges for the 2022 ACES National Grammar Day Tweeted Poetry Contest:
Brittany Constable, winner of the 2021 poetry contest, describes herself as a Californian living in the Midwest with a mild-mannered secret identity in tech support. She used to work attractions at Disneyland, honing her bad-joke skills on the Jungle Cruise. She has several completed novel manuscripts, two or three of which she hopes might be publishable.
Mignon Fogarty is better known as Grammar Girl and a five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. She is the author of seven books about language, including the New York Times bestseller, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. She has also appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show. Her favorite poem is “The Land of Counterpane” by Robert Louis Stevenson, which she remembers reading often as a child.
Since 1989, Sandra J. Lindow has published nine books of poetry and has received many prizes along the way. Her poetry reviews can be found in Star*Line, and her poetry has been published in The Rhysling Anthology, The Dwarf Stars Anthology, Star*Line, Asimov’s, Scifaikuest, Dreams and Nightmares, Since 1987, she has served as West Central vice president of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. She continues to do freelance writing and editing, living on a hilltop in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Christine Ma (she/her) is a copyeditor and proofreader with twenty years of experience. She specializes in children's and young adult fiction and nonfiction books, but also works on fiction and nonfiction titles for adults. She is a member of the Advisory Council of Conscious Style Guide and the executive board of ACES: The Society for Editing. You can find her online at MsChristineMa.com.
Ammon Shea is an editor at Merriam-Webster, where he writes articles on grammar and usage (such as the difference between the word “grammar” and “usage”). Prior to this he wrote a number of books on language, as well as the only social history of the telephone book. He is fond of the limerick, and exceptionally permissive regarding its scansion.
