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ENTRIES OPEN!​

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"LIFE!... Is this a joke?!"

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Welcome to our newest Mini Challenge: Dark Humour, Bitter Irony — a celebration of the joke beneath the tragedy, the grin that hides the knife, the punchline that lands like a bruise.

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This one is for the poets who can turn shadow into wit - clever, cutting, and uncomfortable in the best way. We’re looking for poems that lean into dark humour (gallows wit, deadpan dread, sharp observation) OR bitter irony (the cruel joke of life, dark satire, the punchline that lands like a bruise).

 

We’re looking for poems that, with 150 words or less, turn shadow into wit:

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  • Dark humour that’s clever, unsettling, and sharply observed

  • Bitter irony that exposes the cruel comedy of being alive

  • Satire, deadpan, gallows wit, “laugh so you don’t break” energy

  • The kind of line that makes someone smirk… then go quiet

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Make it funny. Make it brutal. Make it beautiful.
 

Submit your poem and show us how darkness can wear a smile.

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How to enter

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  • Entry Fee: Entry fee is 1/3 off for this mini challenge:

    • £4 for 1 poem 

    • £7 for 3 poems (£2.33 per poem)

    • £10 for 5 poems (£2 per poem)

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  • Maximum of 150 words per poem (not including title) for this Mini Challenge

  • Word documents preferred

  • Include title and word count within document

  • Multiple poems can be uploaded individually or within a single word document, as long as they are clearly differentiated by title and word count

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  • Entries close Tuesday 31st March

  • Winner announced in May

  • You may submit as many entries as you wish while the competition is open.

  • All entries considered for publication

  • Judging: The DPC Editors 

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The winner will receive

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  • Monetary prize of £500 (or local currency equivalent)

  • 'Dark Humour, Bitter Irony' Winner certification

  • Official Dark Poets Club T-shirt

 

If you know how to create poetry out of the laughable 'sure, why not...' experiences of life and make the words cut like a blade — this is your invitation.

 

Dare to enter & let the darkness wear a grin.

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—submit your masterpieces via the form below!​

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GOOD LUCK!

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E N T E R

Please only select the multiples of a specific number of poems if you wish to enter more than number already shown (example: if you wish to submit '5 Poems', make the quantity 1. If you wish to enter 10 poems, make the quantity 2, etc)
5 Poems (£2 per poem)
5 Poems (£2 per poem)£10
3 Poems (£2.33 per poem)
3 Poems (£2.33 per poem)£7
1 Poem
1 Poem £4

(150 words max each, excluding title. Please note, Word documents are the preferred format. Please include titles & word counts within the document.)

AS FEATURED BY

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© Copyright Dark Poets Club

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