In his review of Ulysses, T S Eliot suggested that, to access the modern world, it was necessary to deploy all the resources of the history of culture, recycling traditional forms and remaking them for today:
[T S Eliot from "Ulysses, Order and Myth," 1922 book review]
"In using the myth, in manipulating a continuous parallel between contemporaneity and antiquity, Mr. Joyce is pursuing a method which others must pursue after him. . . . They will not be imitators, any more than the scientist who uses the discoveries of an Einstein in pursuing his own, independent, further investigations. It is simply a way of controlling, of ordering, of giving a shape and a signficance to the immense panoroma of futility and anarchy which is contemporary history. Instead of narrative method, we may now use the mythical method. It is, I seriously believe, a step toward making the modern world possible in art. .”
I am looking for poetry that does what he suggests. Take themes or forms from the past and reuse them to express something about the modern world. To be absolutely clear, I'm not looking for material inspired by Eliot in particular. Anything goes as long as it recycles something from the tradition and has a modern point of view.
Rules:
There are no other rules. If you break them, you won’t win.
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on February 15, 2006
- Rewards: Gold: 300
- Final notes: Working through the entries to this contest has been a really rewarding exercise, so I would like to thank everyone who has entered for a fascinating read. I have really had to think hard about what good poetry is and the final task of picking out winners from material of this quality has been seriously challenging.
I have had to focus more attention on the entries than one would normally have time to do and one of the problems I found is that sometimes, even reading carefully, I missed significant aspects of the poem. Mostly, I suppose that was a result of my own obtuseness but sometimes the imagery was so personal to the writer that it really was difficult to understand without an explanation.
In the end, I reached the conclusion that a balance has to be found between absolute richness and accessibility. Most of us don’t have Eliot’s luxury of generations of graduate students who will explain our work for us and I think that in the end a good poem has to be more than just a collection of beautiful words.
The result is that the four poems I finally short listed had what I thought was the right balance between good writing, depth of meaning and imagery. In no particular order, they are:
Upon the Fall of the King
The Myth is, the Invention of it ever being Otherwise.
Reading the Hymn of Demeter in the parking lot while considering Poetry, Mr. Pound and Myths
Self Portrait in Three Acts
Upon the fall of the king is a powerful piece with a very clear parallel between an ancient reality and modern Middle-Eastern politics, and a general – perhaps universal – message about humanity and the nature of power.
I really liked Nurse Chilly’s parallel between a modern one night stand and Prufrock with its implication that for all our physical intimacy we still have difficulty with relationships.
Reading the Hymn of Demeter was a tour de force of reality, poetry and criticism and a very finely nuanced poem and Self Portrait in Three Acts resonated with wit, philosophical awareness and in jokes.
Just selecting these finalists from a field of this strength – take a look at the poems and my judging notes if you don’t believe me – was a challenge and coming up with a final order was almost impossible but, with a little help from my friends, I am awarding the trophies as follows:
Gold – Reading the Hymn of Demeter etc.
Silver – The Myth is the invention etc.
Bronze – Self Portrait in Three Acts
In addition to the 300 points for Gold, I am giving the applause points from the contest to Silver (100) and Bronze (50).
Thank you everyone for your entries in a fascinating and rewarding contest.
vic
Entries [8]
1 - 8 of 8
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• Commented on by judge.
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by NurseChilly 85 lines, 29 comments, on Jan 26 7:45 AM 2006. In Adult, Adult humor, Love
Silver trophy winner
• Commented on by judge. -
I did not ask to be created.
I did not ask to be made the tender trap• Commented on by judge. -
I) Cartesian Reflection
As I step before the mirror, and reflect:by Normpo 62 lines, 9 comments, on Feb 6 6:25 PM 2006. In Personal, Other, Contemporary
Bronze trophy winner
• Commented on by judge. -
Fox jumped up and over the fence, licking his chops as he scented the aroma from Mom's Kitchen.
[To be continued]by cafegroundzero 56 lines, 4 comments, on Feb 7 11:08 AM 2006. In Nature, Contemporary, Collaboration• Commented on by judge. -
Tiresias to Oedipus in Short Three Acts• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
1 - 29 of 29
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Oh I am tempted.. very very tempted.. I love myths, and the way they can be referenced in a modern context. Excellent idea for a contest..
Liza -
Wow, this looks like quite the challenge! I should probably start gathering ideas now if I want to start on it... *Ponders*
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I have every confidence that there are a couple of dozen poets on the site who are well up to this. I can name ten straight off the top of my head. I'm hoping for some really interesting poems.
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This is such a great contest idea, although i don't know how much interest this will spark... you've got my attention though... now shh-sues-writing for this contest!
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You should send out invitations- to those particular poets- I will post this in my poetry workshop.
m -
An excellent challenge you present here and you're right there are a number of people here who wuold be more than capable of rising to it.
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I have entered a piece, sort of a combination of many myths and imaginary beliefs as is common when we deal with the great myths of long ago..."The impact of the mythic themes is best seen when we act them out. When the astronauts went to the moon, they went on a great Journey. And on that Journey they learned the lesson of all great Journeys, the Secret of Life, which is precisely the fact that we are mortal. The astronauts has almost universally testified to the poignant understanding they gained not only of their own mortality but of the fragility of the entire Earth. Like all those who make the Journey, they were never fully able to communicate that vision to the rest of us"....
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Oh...this is a very interesting contest idea. I already have an idea forming.
I agree that there are a few poets here that should do excellent, should they decide to enter.
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Mary,Liza and Jan are right.... an interesting concept for a contest... well thought out...
*walks off pondering*
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Hi, thank you for the invitation, will see if I can kick start my muse this weekend, sounds a good comp and an intelligent one, that makes a very pleasant change,lol, all the best with this comp , hugs Di
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I adore this idea, and am very happy you have opened this, I am actually working on a piece that fits this contest perfectly. You do not mind if the idea I use is from around the 100-400 B.C?
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I'm sure there will be a number of entries, to go over the head of a poet may be more difficult than VG can imagine. This site needs more challenging contests. I welcome your challenge. Best wishes
Peace Muddy -
Thank you Philogos for telling and inviting us to enter this. It is indeed a very interesting concept for a contest - something out of the ordinary found here. I am bookmarking it, and will definitely be pondering it for the next few days.
Thanks, and keep well. -
Thank you for pointing me towards this contest...a wonderful idea and a great challenge indeed. I'm bookmarking this. I think this contest requires some "research" - so off I go to read and read... hope to be here. Best wishes!
~ Nicolette
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Thanks for the invite to the contest... very challanging, I will see what OI can come up with for you!
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Certainly you will draw great minds and poetry into this contest. Wonderful idea! I love it. I have to let it sink in but I am bookmarking it and I will be back.
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Oh how wonderful! I had already bookmarked this contest and have been trying to come up with a theme, but it really makes me feel good to know that I've contributed more to this wonderful effort. Thanks Philogos, you've made my day
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Love the idea but with such a busy schedule I doubt I will have time to enter. Thanks for letting me know about it, and should I find the time to think about it, I will.
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Thank you. I like the mythical theme, and I'll have a wee think about it when I have time.
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I'm so thrilled you posted this. It could not suit my latest poem more perfectly. I chose Christian mythology (a word that suits it perfectly). Hope that's ok.
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I changed my mind..
Edited on Feb 04, 9:16 p.m. because ''. -
and apparently again? lol -
..sigh..
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ahem... okay so who's changing minds here?.. I know I saw one by you..
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wow vic - you've lots of entries. Been a lazy trollop today and not read any of these yet. Will sit down when it goes a bit quiet later - if I'm still awake. Eyeballs in lap - may take a restorative glass of plonk. x debs
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Progress report: I am working through the entries, initially with a view to understanding the poetry and making judging notes. As I do them, I am posting the result. You will have to be patient. This will certainly take me a couple more days because of the quality and complexity of the poetry. I am posting reviews on the first two tonight, in a random sort of order. The rest follow.
vic
Edited on Feb 09, 4:54 p.m. because 'improvement'. -
Oh thanks for the update. Here have a clap for your efforts.
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Thankyou for the trophy... wow..
and congratulations to all who entered and the other trophy winners too..
was fine and dandy contest and look forward to your next one..
~GILL~x -
Holy Moly.
I'm shocked.
Thank you so much.
Contrats to everyone - I read all the poems.
And many thanks to Philogos -- who painstakingly reported his judging status and made wonderful comments.
Yikes!
Lisa
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