Ten years ago, I entered my first poetry competition, without the slightest hope of being placed. Like most writers, I am not all that good at self promotion, and entering any kind of writing competition seems to fall into that category. And this seems a bit strange, even to me, because that first one? I won.
You could have knocked me down with a feather when I opened the mail that day and the letter fell out, complete with a substantial cheque.
It had been an international poetry prize, judged by the French poet and philosopher, Michel François. It was the linguistic and esoteric connection that had first attracted my attention. And suddenly I could, to my intense surprise, call myself an ‘award winning poet’… and that felt odd. Even odder in French, where the term for the prize-winner is lauréat, a word with a slightly different aura when applied to poets in English.
That was ten years ago. I’m still not comfortable with self-promotion, so although I steeled myself to mention the award in my bio, I am far happier promoting the work of others than my own.
For some reason, I checked the website of that poetry prize the other day, wondering what this year’s dates would be, only to find that the award will not be running this year. I found something else though, which once again took me by surprise. They had published a bilingual anthology of some of the prize-winning poems, edited by Michel François and including some of his own unpublished work.
I must have missed it when it was first released. I could not remember having been notified, but there had been a lot going on in my life at the time… so I assumed I was not one of the chosen poets. I felt I should obtain a copy even so, for winning that prize had given me the confidence to write.
It duly arrived and fell open at a bookmarked page. Whether by accident or design, the bookmark had been inserted at the page that held my poem. And that was a wonderful surprise. But the thing that made me really smile was a simple thing… the book is a hardback. And for some reason that made it suddenly seem real in some illogical and indefinable way.
I suppose it is a hangover from childhood, when all serious writers were published in hardback. These days, there is so much excellent writing published primarily in paerback…especially with the advent of print-on-demand services… that such a perception is completely out of date. But it made me wonder how many of us shy away, not only from mentioning our achievements, but giving ourselves any credit for them?
We downplay so much of what we do, because we are taught that it is not the done thing to blow one’s own trumpet. The trouble is that no-one else can blow it for us if they don’t know we have one to blow. There is, admittedly, a fine line between confidently stating your achievements and bragging about them… and that never goes down well.
Not all achievements come with honours, cheques or recognition. Most, in fact, are quite ‘ordinary’…but no less extraordinary for that. The parent who juggles home, work and children, giving all of themselves to what they do. The person who smiles in spite of chronic illness. The person who cheerfully puts their own dreams on hold for the needs of others. The quiet effort and ungrudging sacrifices that go into every single day are all achievements worthy of praise, and although we might not shout about them from the rooftops, we should, at the very least, recognise when we have done a good job.
It need not be a big thing… sometimes it is the small things that give us the encouragement we need. Sometimes it takes no more than a ‘thank you’ or a smile to boost our confidence in what we do. In my case, it took just three words… available in hardback.
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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Thank you for sharing this 🙂
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That is so lovely Sue!!!
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Thanks, Susan 🙂
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Very cool. I am not surprised that you are a lauréat poet. And yeah, hardcover… !
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Quite made my day 🙂
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What a lovely surprise. I am happy for you.
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Thank you, Mary!
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How wonderful that the bookmark was inserted on your poem. Getting published in hardback is still an honour I think for it is so hard to accomplish. Well done. 🙂
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It feels like it, Suzanne, though nothing…not even hardback… can beat the feeling of holding The Initiate for the first time 🙂
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Very happy for you and such a lovely, encouraging post as well.
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Thank you, Brenda 🙂
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WELL DONE – you’re a deserving lauréat, Sue ❤ ❤ ❤
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I was sort of chuffed, Chris 😉 xxx
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I’ll bet you were, Sue 👍 ❤️❤️❤️
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Ani took a while to come out of hiding with all the whooping 😉 xxx
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LOLOL
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😀
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what a wonderful and well-deserved surprise, sue –
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Thank you, Beth 🙂
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Lovely, Sue. Loved they put the bookmark in where your poem is. There is something special about hard back.
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There is, Mary… libraries, as the Philospher Mouse mentions 😉
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This is a wonderful post and well done on your achievements too. 🙂
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Than you 😀
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thanks, Michael 🙂
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Congratulations Sue, that is wonderful; and truly something to be proud of. You’re so right — we are so shy and uncomfortable when it comes to acknowledging our accomplishments, whatever they are, but we shouldn’t be. They’re meaningful and part of who we are and there is nothing wrong with sharing good news, even about ourselves.
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We are pretty lousy at it, on the whole, but knowing what this bit of a surprise meant to me, I thought sharing might be a good idea 🙂
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It was a very good idea 😊
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🙂
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This is wonderful, Sue ♥ In this world of the ephemeral, we need these tangible rewards to hold in our hand, evidence that we (and our work) are real. You are worthy and deserving of success, never doubt that! Your friend from far away, Connie
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Thanks, Connie. Witht he internet consuming every word and so little being left to posterity in tangible form, there is something about a physical copy of a book that seems to confirm reality …and we do need that sometimes.
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A beautiful surprise. An inspiring post from an inspirational poet.
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Thank you, Ellen 🙂
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Very cool, Ms Poet Lauréat 😉 I’m sure it does feel great to have your words in a hard bound book.
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It really does… daft though it may sound 🙂
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You have every right to be proud! And we are glad you took that first step.
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Thank you. Every first step starts a new adventure 🙂
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Well deserved, I am sure. Would be lovely if you shared the winning poem on your blog ❤
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I just did 🙂
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This was fascinating reading for me–words from a real author!
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It is odd, with sixteen books out there, that I have absolutely loved living and writing, you would not think a little thing like ‘hardback’ would be such a confidence boost…but it is.
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I would definitely think it WOULD be a (big) confidence boost!
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It is , Rae 😉
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I think you pegged it with “holdover from childhood”
Maybe that’s it. All those books in the library that we held in our hands.
How cool and what encouragement to actually have your work in an actual hardback book. Solid. Real. And so wonderful. (Your whole body must have secretly shouted YEA!)
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No so secretly… the dog beat a hasty retreat 🙂
That’s it, I think… libraries. All books were hardbacks there 🙂
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Wow What a lovely Surprise Sue.. and well deserved.
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Thank you, paul…it made my day 🙂
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Wow! Congrats, Sue. That’s quite an honor for you and well deserved.
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It was lovely to find the book, Lyn 🙂
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Celebrating your every success! ❤
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Thank you, Annette ❤
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This is wonderful, Sue! There is something about a hard cover book. Makes it seem official somehow.
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That is just how it felt too 🙂 Thank you.
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Thanks for sharing your news. A hardback book – brilliant. I love the fact that the bookmark was placed at the page where you poem resides.
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I wish I knew whether that was purely accidental or whether some kind soul had done it on purpose… either way, it was lovely to find 🙂
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It is the small good things that often give us a boost to continue slogging on Sue. So toot your horn loud because you are a talented writer and very deserving. Huge congrats!! ❤ xx
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Thanks, Debby. As my sons call me a hobbit, I’m a fan of little things 😉 x
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Lol, love that name Sue. 🙂 xx
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I’m rather fond of it myself 😉 xx
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❤
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Whoot! 😀 .. you hardcover published author, you! 😀
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😀 😀
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The more I read, the more moist my eyes got. Don’t know why I was getting quite that emotional. But this is great! What we’re all striving for. Congratulations. And, yes, it’s hard to blow your own horn but somebodie’s got to do it. Thanks for sharing this.
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Thank you, Gary. I felt a bit that way myself 😉
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How wonderful!! I’m sure you are very pleased to be included in the hardback addition od this anthology!! Congratulations and thanks for sharing it with us. xo
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Thank you. I was over the moon, Darlene 🙂
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I still treasure hardbacks in a way I do not treasure paperbacks — also a holdover from childhood. How delightful that it was set to your poem 😀 What a lovely emotional tickle.
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It really made my day opening that package, Marilyn 🙂
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What a wonderful surprise! I’m so happy for you. ❤️❤️❤️
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It was, Michelle… it really gave me a lift 🙂 ❤
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