YOUR Poetic Journey.
Poetry Contest
The topic for this poetry contest is: YOUR Poetic Journey!
****Your challenge is to write thirty poems in thirty days.****
Write poems that incorporate the assignments below. The poetry MUST be specifically about the topics, but creative approaches are welcomed.
RULES:
~ All your poems MUST be together in a BOOK.
~ The book title MUST be "My Poetic Journey".
~ The "main entry" to this contest MUST be the PROLOGUE telling why you entered this contest and what you hope to learn from it.
~ The prologue must be titled "My Poetic Journey"
~ The prologue must also contain the "Daily Assignments" below.
~ Each chapter MUST begin with the DAY and the ASSIGNMENT
For example: The beginning of chapter ONE would be:
"Day 1: Assignment 1:
Write a poem about your childhood. Explore an actual event that had some emotional significance to you. Avoid using any description of how you felt about the event then or how you feel about it now. Instead, try to make the emotion of the event come through in your descriptions of what happened."
~ The titles of each chapter are up to you.
~ Your book must conclude with an epilogue including the titles of your poems throughout the book.
~ The epilogue must also include what you learned from doing this contest/assignment.
~ When your book is completed, there must be a total of 32 chapters: the prologue, the thirty poems in thirty days, and the epilogue.
For an example of the book as a whole, please check out MY Poetic Journey at: http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=255653.
Okay.... ready for your daily assignments????
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Write a poem about your childhood. Explore an actual event that had some emotional significance to you. Avoid using any description of how you felt about the event then or how you feel about it now. Instead, try to make the emotion of the event come through in your descriptions of what happened.
2. Write about an event in your life that happened within the past week. Take some time to think about the week and look for event that has some emotional meaning for you, but not so much that it would be painful for you to write about. Sometimes smaller moments have more meaning.
3. Find a news or opinion article that was published on the web this week. I recommend using Google News because it can take you just about anywhere. Look for a story that has some emotional or philosophical impact on you and use that story as the basis for your poem.
4. Get out of the house and write in a new place. Write about the place you choose to go to. Don't just rely on what you see. Describe the smells, the tastes and the sounds if you can. Try to give your readers a full picture of the place you choose.
5. Write a persona poem that incorporates one of the past two concepts. It should either address a social issue or it should provide a strong sense of place. One great way to do the latter is to write a poem in a public place, and to observe the people around you until you find someone interesting that you can imagine a back-story for.
6. Take at least five minutes to meditate in a quite room free of outside influences before you write today's poem. Try to clear your head of stray thoughts. Once you feel like you are clear and calm, write your poem. Let the topic be about whatever comes to mind after your meditation. If you have never meditated before, simply sit in a chair with your eyes closed and try to relax.
7. Write a list poem that uses a single line for each item on the list. For example: write about the magnets on your refridgerator.
8. Write an elegy about a person or event that is meaningful to you. You don?t necessarily have to approach the most tragic event in your life. Don't try to take on an event that is still too difficult for you to deal with. Look for something that you can handle.
9. Write a poem using a specific meter. The meter can be of your own choosing or even your own making, as long as you put a pattern into place.
10. Write a three stanza poem that uses a metered style for the first two stanzas and a non-metered format for the third stanza.
11. Read a poet you don't like. Try to figure out what they do that upsets you and determine whether or not this assessment is fair. Try to think of ways that you would approach the same subject matter using your style. Write a poem that addresses some of the same subject/style/tone of the poet you dislike but do it in your own style. (Note: If you cannot find a poet you don't like, you may use a poem, or a poetry form).
12. Write a poem using syllabic verse. You can assign length either by line or stanza. If you are stuck for a way to begin, start with this two-word ten-syllable line: Incompatible Participation.
13. Today is a two-part assignment.
~ The first part is to think about your method of writing poetry. Please tell us about your work style in the comments, even if you aren't posting your poetry in the comments.
~ The second part is to shake up your process. If you have a lot of structure, try loosening up. If you write very loosely, try adding some structure to the process. Find a new place to write or use a different tool. The change doesn't have to be major. Please tell us what you changed.
14. Write a poem that uses at least two different forms of repetition.
15. Write a poem that follows the three rules of the imagists:
1. Direct treatment of the 'thing', whether subjective or objective.
2. To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation.
3. As regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the metronome.
16. Revisit one (or more) of the first fifteen assignments, perhaps one you especially liked or one you had trouble with, and write another poem following those same directions.
17. For today's assignment, there is a choice of two things:
Choice 1:
Wikipedia's Random Button is a great thing if you are stuck for a topic.
I clicked on it once just today and this is what came up:
Bloomfield River
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomfield_River)
Find a way to incorporate this article into a poem.
Choice 2:
Write a poem beginning and ending with the following lines:
The first line:
For centuries lovers have looked to the stars
The last line:
And the three-legged dog chased the beer truck out of town
18. Include the words formal and casual in a poem.
19. Write a poem that has a variable line length rather than a set meter.
20. Write a poem that begins with a negative image or statement and ends with a positive image or statement. For example: You can begin with "I am fat", and end with "I am beautiful!".
21. Write a three stanza poem that shows a progression with each stanza. The three stanzas should serve as a beginning, middle and end respectively. For example: Picture the poem as a three act play.
22. Try something that scares you (just a little) and then write a poem about it.
23. Write a poem that discusses a real moment in your life without discussing its larger meaning or attempting to lead the reader to a conclusion.
24. Include a verb in every line of your poem.
25. Write a poem that begins and ends with this word: "Journey".
26. Write the first draft of your poem in paragraph form - and then change it into a free verse poem. Don't be surprised if you have to change lines, words and phrases. That will probably be a part of the process.
27. Use ONE of the following methods from the list below as inspiration for today's poem.
~ Take a walk.
~ Take a shower.
~ Interview yourself.
~ Look at one of your old childhood photographs
~ Hit "Random" on your ipod (or other music listening device) and write about the first song that plays.
~ Just start writing anything that comes to mind as fast as you can (Do NOT edit this one (other than spellings errors and typos!).
****This poem MUST start with the title: "My Poetic Journey"
28. Write a poem that either uses no words longer than five letters OR no words shorter than five letters. *Poem must be at least 13 lines.
29. Write your poem ending with the line: "and the water soaked me from head to toe".
30. Don't include words with a single "A" in it, BUT do include four words with two A's in it.
Well, there ya go! Your assignment(s) await!
Oh, and technically, I'm giving you TWO MONTHS! Due to the fact we can only post two posts per day on FanStory. So you get some breathing room there.... say thank you ;)
Good luck and have fun! :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool of 50.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Sunday, July 26, 2009.
Full Contest Listing
****Your challenge is to write thirty poems in thirty days.****
Write poems that incorporate the assignments below. The poetry MUST be specifically about the topics, but creative approaches are welcomed.
RULES:
~ All your poems MUST be together in a BOOK.
~ The book title MUST be "My Poetic Journey".
~ The "main entry" to this contest MUST be the PROLOGUE telling why you entered this contest and what you hope to learn from it.
~ The prologue must be titled "My Poetic Journey"
~ The prologue must also contain the "Daily Assignments" below.
~ Each chapter MUST begin with the DAY and the ASSIGNMENT
For example: The beginning of chapter ONE would be:
"Day 1: Assignment 1:
Write a poem about your childhood. Explore an actual event that had some emotional significance to you. Avoid using any description of how you felt about the event then or how you feel about it now. Instead, try to make the emotion of the event come through in your descriptions of what happened."
~ The titles of each chapter are up to you.
~ Your book must conclude with an epilogue including the titles of your poems throughout the book.
~ The epilogue must also include what you learned from doing this contest/assignment.
~ When your book is completed, there must be a total of 32 chapters: the prologue, the thirty poems in thirty days, and the epilogue.
For an example of the book as a whole, please check out MY Poetic Journey at: http://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=255653.
Okay.... ready for your daily assignments????
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Write a poem about your childhood. Explore an actual event that had some emotional significance to you. Avoid using any description of how you felt about the event then or how you feel about it now. Instead, try to make the emotion of the event come through in your descriptions of what happened.
2. Write about an event in your life that happened within the past week. Take some time to think about the week and look for event that has some emotional meaning for you, but not so much that it would be painful for you to write about. Sometimes smaller moments have more meaning.
3. Find a news or opinion article that was published on the web this week. I recommend using Google News because it can take you just about anywhere. Look for a story that has some emotional or philosophical impact on you and use that story as the basis for your poem.
4. Get out of the house and write in a new place. Write about the place you choose to go to. Don't just rely on what you see. Describe the smells, the tastes and the sounds if you can. Try to give your readers a full picture of the place you choose.
5. Write a persona poem that incorporates one of the past two concepts. It should either address a social issue or it should provide a strong sense of place. One great way to do the latter is to write a poem in a public place, and to observe the people around you until you find someone interesting that you can imagine a back-story for.
6. Take at least five minutes to meditate in a quite room free of outside influences before you write today's poem. Try to clear your head of stray thoughts. Once you feel like you are clear and calm, write your poem. Let the topic be about whatever comes to mind after your meditation. If you have never meditated before, simply sit in a chair with your eyes closed and try to relax.
7. Write a list poem that uses a single line for each item on the list. For example: write about the magnets on your refridgerator.
8. Write an elegy about a person or event that is meaningful to you. You don?t necessarily have to approach the most tragic event in your life. Don't try to take on an event that is still too difficult for you to deal with. Look for something that you can handle.
9. Write a poem using a specific meter. The meter can be of your own choosing or even your own making, as long as you put a pattern into place.
10. Write a three stanza poem that uses a metered style for the first two stanzas and a non-metered format for the third stanza.
11. Read a poet you don't like. Try to figure out what they do that upsets you and determine whether or not this assessment is fair. Try to think of ways that you would approach the same subject matter using your style. Write a poem that addresses some of the same subject/style/tone of the poet you dislike but do it in your own style. (Note: If you cannot find a poet you don't like, you may use a poem, or a poetry form).
12. Write a poem using syllabic verse. You can assign length either by line or stanza. If you are stuck for a way to begin, start with this two-word ten-syllable line: Incompatible Participation.
13. Today is a two-part assignment.
~ The first part is to think about your method of writing poetry. Please tell us about your work style in the comments, even if you aren't posting your poetry in the comments.
~ The second part is to shake up your process. If you have a lot of structure, try loosening up. If you write very loosely, try adding some structure to the process. Find a new place to write or use a different tool. The change doesn't have to be major. Please tell us what you changed.
14. Write a poem that uses at least two different forms of repetition.
15. Write a poem that follows the three rules of the imagists:
1. Direct treatment of the 'thing', whether subjective or objective.
2. To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation.
3. As regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the metronome.
16. Revisit one (or more) of the first fifteen assignments, perhaps one you especially liked or one you had trouble with, and write another poem following those same directions.
17. For today's assignment, there is a choice of two things:
Choice 1:
Wikipedia's Random Button is a great thing if you are stuck for a topic.
I clicked on it once just today and this is what came up:
Bloomfield River
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomfield_River)
Find a way to incorporate this article into a poem.
Choice 2:
Write a poem beginning and ending with the following lines:
The first line:
For centuries lovers have looked to the stars
The last line:
And the three-legged dog chased the beer truck out of town
18. Include the words formal and casual in a poem.
19. Write a poem that has a variable line length rather than a set meter.
20. Write a poem that begins with a negative image or statement and ends with a positive image or statement. For example: You can begin with "I am fat", and end with "I am beautiful!".
21. Write a three stanza poem that shows a progression with each stanza. The three stanzas should serve as a beginning, middle and end respectively. For example: Picture the poem as a three act play.
22. Try something that scares you (just a little) and then write a poem about it.
23. Write a poem that discusses a real moment in your life without discussing its larger meaning or attempting to lead the reader to a conclusion.
24. Include a verb in every line of your poem.
25. Write a poem that begins and ends with this word: "Journey".
26. Write the first draft of your poem in paragraph form - and then change it into a free verse poem. Don't be surprised if you have to change lines, words and phrases. That will probably be a part of the process.
27. Use ONE of the following methods from the list below as inspiration for today's poem.
~ Take a walk.
~ Take a shower.
~ Interview yourself.
~ Look at one of your old childhood photographs
~ Hit "Random" on your ipod (or other music listening device) and write about the first song that plays.
~ Just start writing anything that comes to mind as fast as you can (Do NOT edit this one (other than spellings errors and typos!).
****This poem MUST start with the title: "My Poetic Journey"
28. Write a poem that either uses no words longer than five letters OR no words shorter than five letters. *Poem must be at least 13 lines.
29. Write your poem ending with the line: "and the water soaked me from head to toe".
30. Don't include words with a single "A" in it, BUT do include four words with two A's in it.
Well, there ya go! Your assignment(s) await!
Oh, and technically, I'm giving you TWO MONTHS! Due to the fact we can only post two posts per day on FanStory. So you get some breathing room there.... say thank you ;)
Good luck and have fun! :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool of 50.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Sunday, July 26, 2009.
