[Bards] How to improve Kingdom Eisteddfod

[Jay Rudin]

Robert FitzMorgan wrote:

>     I you've never cracked a book and can't tell a sonnet from a
> saga, that doesn't mean that you can't or shouldn't enter  
> Eisteddfod. It does mean that you probably won't win.  
    
Exactly.  The essential thing to realize is that Eisteddfod is a competition.  There are two things being confused here.  Entrance requirements, and what it takes to win.  I hope the standards for being Premier Bard always remain high, but the standards for being Premier Bard are always exactly this: do better than all the other entrants.  "The standards are high" is semantically equivalent to "Lots of good bards enter."

To enter Kingdom Eisteddfod this year requires no more than three pieces and a little heart.  To *win* requires being better than the other entrants.

>     The other thing to remember is that Kingdom Bard is a job.  If you win it is
> your responsibility to represent the Kingdom as a bard and to promote bard
> craft throughout the kingdom.   If you can't do that then you probably shouldn't
> be Kingdom Bard.  

This is the real requirement.  Will you commit, if you win, to travelling around the kingdom entertaining and encouraging other bards?  Note that I'm not asking if you will be good at it; that's the judges' decision.  If you are prepared to try, and have three pieces, then you qualify to enter Kingdom Eisteddfod.

But to win?  You need to be better than Darius, Gerald, Kat, Willow, and all the others who enter.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin
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