Daughters & domesticity

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that William Wordsworth is one of the most towering names in poetry, and Writing Magazine poets did full justice to him in the competition to recognise 250 years since his birth.

Following the guidelines suggested when the competition was set, poets wrote about various times and events in Wordsworth’s life, his joys and relationships, the tragedy of his brother’s death at sea, rustic themes, and all the household-name poems. Some of the entries were set in the past, others in today’s strange world, and one thread common to the poems was the warmth and enthusiasm with which today’s writers approached the subject of one of their fellows. The blank page is equally blank for every poet, and that shared experience provided a subtle contact between today’s writers and one of the founders of the Romantic movement.

Several poets chose to write parodies – mostly but not exclusively of – and these were particularly interesting to read. Unfortunately some had problems with the rhyme and metre,