The Dead Cat Poetry Prize

"Who shall tell the lady's grief
When her Cat was past relief?..."

   - Christina Rossetti, 'On the Death of a Cat, a Friend of Mine, Aged Ten Years and a Half'

"Eight times emerging from the flood
She mew'd to ev'ry wat'ry god..."

   - Thomas Gray, 'Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat Drown'd in a Tub of Gold Fishes'

"I bristle before the Sky, and its parts that are upon it. I myself am placed among the imperishable ones that are in the Sky, I am Ta-Miut, the Triumphant"
   - hieroglyphic inscription on the sarcophagus of Tamiut, pet cat of Prince Thutmose.
   'Ta-Miut' means 'she-cat'.

"Avoid sending poems on the death of your cat" - Chris Emery, Salt Publishing, 2018

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Throughout the history of civilisation, humans have lived cheek-by-whiskered-jowl with feline companions, and with consequent inevitability, mourned their loss.

As with any aspect of human experience, through the ages we have expressed our fondness and our grief in poetry. It is hard for poetry about dead cats to find its way through established poetry contests, so this new prize is dedicated entirely to the topic.

Watch this space for details of how you can submit your entry to the inaugural Dead Cat Poetry Prize, to be awarded in 2021.

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