In the UK there is a popular radio program where celebrities choose their favourite records that they would want available on a desert island and say what they like about them and why they were chosen.
I would like to know about your favourite *POEMS*.
This is *NOT* a contest to choose the best poems it *IS* a contest to see how you can describe the poems.
RULES:
1. Your favourite poems must appear on the Oldpoetry website which is the sister program to this one and is on the links at the bottom of every page. (If they don't but you think they qualify for inclusion on Oldpoetry drop me an IM)
2. You must choose 7 poems and tell everyone the name, poet and why you like it after each one. If you can supply a link to the poem on oldpoetry so much the better.
3. The poems may be all by he same writer but that is less likely to get you a trophy.
4. Your reasons are obviously your own but please don't use bad language and chat speak in your descriptions.
5. The judges decision will be final. I will be the judge although I may ask friends for help if there are a lot of good entries.
6. Multiple entries are allowed but must have 7 different poems to your other entries.
To show you the sort of thing I mean here are my choices set out in a way which I would like to see yours appear.
http://allpoetry.com/column/show/2317144
As a bonus all entries that are worthy will be added to the Desert Island feature being run on Oldpoetry unless you say otherwise.
Have *FUN*
Jim
I would like to know about your favourite *POEMS*.
This is *NOT* a contest to choose the best poems it *IS* a contest to see how you can describe the poems.
RULES:
1. Your favourite poems must appear on the Oldpoetry website which is the sister program to this one and is on the links at the bottom of every page. (If they don't but you think they qualify for inclusion on Oldpoetry drop me an IM)
2. You must choose 7 poems and tell everyone the name, poet and why you like it after each one. If you can supply a link to the poem on oldpoetry so much the better.
3. The poems may be all by he same writer but that is less likely to get you a trophy.
4. Your reasons are obviously your own but please don't use bad language and chat speak in your descriptions.
5. The judges decision will be final. I will be the judge although I may ask friends for help if there are a lot of good entries.
6. Multiple entries are allowed but must have 7 different poems to your other entries.
To show you the sort of thing I mean here are my choices set out in a way which I would like to see yours appear.
http://allpoetry.com/column/show/2317144
As a bonus all entries that are worthy will be added to the Desert Island feature being run on Oldpoetry unless you say otherwise.
Have *FUN*
Jim
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on December 31, 2006
- Rewards: Gold: 600, Silver: 200, Bronze: 100
- Final notes: Although not as many entries as I wished for there were still more than enough high quality entries to make the task of judging difficult and time consuming with only a few points seperating the top entries.
It was interesting to note that although a number of poets were repeated in several lists not many poems were. Also the range of poetry styles selected was vast.
With hindsight I wish I had not made rule 3 so prominent as most entrants (though not all) chose to interpret this as chosing the 7 best poets rather than poems. However that did produce a greater variety I believe
Contest Winners
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• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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by gordon the gopher 8 lines, 1 comment, on Dec 27 2:09 PM 2006• Viewed by judge. Prewrite [remove]
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sorry but i do not know how to create links
the first poem is a poem of pure love, stanzas to augusta by Byronby heartsnbows 32 lines, 2 comments, on Dec 27 8:37 AM 2006• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
What would you do? What would you read?
Stranded on an island for a week!• Commented on by judge. [remove]
Gold trophy winner
Bronze trophy winner
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can I enter mine it's a pre-write so I suppose it's not allowed lol - give me a call if you need me Jim.
I hope the entries keep you busy
Von
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Great Idea for this contest, as I am a major fan of Old Poetry (not the site- the poetry) my only problem is the Old Poetry site stipulation. Upon my search they have no Millay, as she was the poet whose poem helped me throught the roughest time of my life I could never exclud her from the top 7. Nor were my favorite Sandburg, Whitman or Donne poems there when I searched.(they were represented but not with the poems I would have chosen) My island is lonley with only one reference site!!
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I just entered mine - I know a lot of them are a little cliched as choices, but hey, I like them.
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nice idea for a contest, I wish you much luck, I won't be entering due to the fact that my favorite poems are not listed on the old poetry site and it would be a lie for me to pretend they were. I know you will get many good entries as there are many fans of the poets that are there. very creative contest idea... goood luck and God Bless
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um....can I also enter?
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I am going to come back for this one. It's challenging, in the sense, I would be able to talk ( in a direct) manner about my understanding of certain poems. And I love poetry discuss, even though it's a contest, I can still be liberal about what I have to say. Ofcourse not in a blunt fashion.
~Madd -
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You will be welcome. The more the merrier.
Jim
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Seven Day entry for the Desert Island
I have tried to enter this about three times! The first time the system had some type of error; the second time my login name was rejected and the third time--it disappeared! So, forgive the brevity of this, yet my fourth time doing this, lol. Most of the poems were selected for length, since I will be on an island--and no daily interruptions will be around:
1."Darkness" by Lord Byron, 83 lines--the title is great, and Byron always delivers. I'm sure I would forget that I am alone, on an island, with the comfort of Byron. Forget the SOS signals. Forget trying to get off the island--Byron, Byron, Byron would be written in the sand.
2. "Requiem" by Anna Akhmatova, 261 lines. I admire this poet greatly. Her life, and the fact that she never left her country in the face of political upheavels which cost her years in a Siberian camp and the loss of those close to her (killed by the government--her son was one of those murdered); Requiem is haunting in the story it tells. I'm sure I would forget my second day alone on the island.
3. "The People" by Pablo Neruda, 134 lines. I will need something musical, something with a Spanish flair, and Neruda would be my choice. He loves to combine images, smells, thoughts, insights...enough to make me want to learn his language. Neruda is a drink for the soul. He is a balm for the silent moments on the island....
4. "Guenevere" by Sara Teasdale. I love the idea of historical figures used in poetry. Teasdale masters her craft of poetics, and her knowledge of history and the attention to details--great and small, would make my fourth day on the island seem sunny; a type of literary paradise. By my fourth day, my food would be the poetry I have meditated on.
5. "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes, 41 lines. This is the shortest poem of those listed. Day five would have to be spent hunting for food, some sleep time, and finding some rocks so that I could carve some of the beautiful lines of poetry I have been spending time reading. This particular poem is selected because Hughes uses direct language to tell a story. This poem reminds me all people have cultural and environmental aspects to their life; I MUST keep an open mind to all, and try to hear what is said, and unsaid. This poem reminds me to stop and just "hear" the words with an anthropological slant.
6. "A Dramatic Poem" by William Butler Yeats, 796 lines. Yeats will be my companion on the sixth day. I would probably wake up early, spend the first two hours reading this poem, take a break, then return to the poem. I would probably try to find something to draw pictures on, or make a type of journal since I'm sure there will be many lines that will become life-long friends.
7. To prepare to life back to the "main land", I would end with a Walt Whitman poem, "Carol of Words", 182 lines. Whitman has a way that makes me appreciate my body, my life, my choices. He was a rebel that wasn't afraid to write about slavery, the beauty of the body, Americans forming their own identity in the Arts, and for finding meaning in a dead body. He was caring. He selected words that moved. He was a force that he wasn't afraid of exploring, of editing (Leaves of Grass)...and I'm sure this poem will equip me to think differently and boldly. -
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http://allpoetry.com/poem/2457067
Jim's contest would only accept entries as poems so here is yours.
You should be able to edit it if you wish as a collaborator
GG
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Thank you so much for the gold. It was great visiting my old poetry favorites to find a mere handful that have a power that is sustained read after read after read as well as lend a hand to a spirit in need through thought, reflection and laughter.
s and best wishes always... ~Genie~
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