In addition to the traditional poetic structures (sonnets, free form, prose, etc.), Mike finds inspiration in his admiration of painted art; he creates poetry that echoes this inspiration and posts on his Facebook page both the painting and poem. This dual use of word and picture combines to create a third form, the Written Painting. With this contest, Paint the Poem, Mike sought to reverse the inspiration process by seeking artwork that would be inspirational to his poetic vision. He invited artists and poet alike to submit paintings that could be deemed "word worthy", a quality that marks the Hanson trademark of writing.