There are six stanzas in this poem by Erica Jong. Write a free verse poem inspired by the poem - or by just one of the stanzas. If you chose a specific stanza, please put the 1-6 (whichever number) applies to the stanza that inspired you.
I will try to keep this contest open until there are at least several entries.
Beast, Book, Body
1.
I was sick of being a woman,
sick of the pain,
the irrelevant detail of sex,
my own concavity
uselessly hungering
and emptier whenever it was filled,
and filled finally
by its own emptiness,
seeking the garden of solitude
instead of men.
2.
The white bed
in the green garden--
I looked forward
to sleeping alone
the way some long
for a lover.
3.
Even when you arrived,
I tried to beat you
away with my sadness,
my cynical seductions,
and my trick of
turning a slave
into a master.
4.
And all because
you made
my fingertips ache
and my eyes cross
in passion
that did not know its own name.
5.
Bear, beast, lover
of the book of my body,
you turned my pages
and discovered
what was there
to be written
on the other side.
6.
And now
I am blank
for you,
a tabula rasa
ready to be printed
with letters
in an undiscovered language
by the great press
of our love.
Erica Jong
No end line rhyming.
Left justified.
No more than 45 verses.
Spell check!!!
I will try to keep this contest open until there are at least several entries.
Beast, Book, Body
1.
I was sick of being a woman,
sick of the pain,
the irrelevant detail of sex,
my own concavity
uselessly hungering
and emptier whenever it was filled,
and filled finally
by its own emptiness,
seeking the garden of solitude
instead of men.
2.
The white bed
in the green garden--
I looked forward
to sleeping alone
the way some long
for a lover.
3.
Even when you arrived,
I tried to beat you
away with my sadness,
my cynical seductions,
and my trick of
turning a slave
into a master.
4.
And all because
you made
my fingertips ache
and my eyes cross
in passion
that did not know its own name.
5.
Bear, beast, lover
of the book of my body,
you turned my pages
and discovered
what was there
to be written
on the other side.
6.
And now
I am blank
for you,
a tabula rasa
ready to be printed
with letters
in an undiscovered language
by the great press
of our love.
Erica Jong
No end line rhyming.
Left justified.
No more than 45 verses.
Spell check!!!
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on April 17, 2007
- Rewards: Gold: 300
- Final notes: First and foremost - I really believe that all of the entries wrote poetry for this contest that did reflect some part of the poem by E.Jong and everyone did a great job in their use of form. This is one of the first contests that had me really impressed by the diversity of themes with the entries based on which stanzas were selected.
I chose the gold and silver trophies based on the clarity of images, strength of imagery, uniqueness of the poem, tightness in the form, and the feeling of the poem that left me thinking that some of the vibe that Erica Jong has in her poetry came out through theirs more clearly.
The endings on the Gold and Silver poems were both strong, but I preferred the more straight forward language in the poem I chose for Gold. That was the largest distinction for me between the two - as I did think they were so very close.
The Bronze trophy was unique in the closing thought that indicated that something was missing in a scene that might seem so ideal from the outside looking in. The chink of plastic flutes in the last stanza was a solid follow through of the first stanza. I think the voice in that poem came close to the "voice" that I was looking for - following the Gold and Silver trophy winners.
Everyone else's entry. I liked them all and tried to leave my exact thoughts on all of them. I'd like to encourage anyone who enters my contests to continue writing exactly as you do. It's luck of the draw sometimes where a group of such strong writers puts their work into a contest and I have to pick only 3 out of a group of peers that I think did a tremendous job.
Please check out my newest posted contest about Charles Bukowski's "For Jane" piece. Based on the response all of your made with Erica Jong - this new piece hopefully will inspire you as well.
Kimmie
Contest Winners
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 2832926, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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the dwell ward. hast less
the dribbling lords and house guests,• Commented on by judge. [remove] - Error: Unable to find finalist item 2833322, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
Silver trophy winner
Entries [2]
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You know how it feels when pages of a book get stuck together, and you can’t get them apart, you can’t turn the page?
That’s me.• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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oh dear oh dear.
Let me suggest you extend this and spam all your faves with a link. This is obviously an undiscovered contest; it deserves entries. -
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Yes, I was thinking I really need to extend it a bit. I thought by offering to break it down to having writers choose only one stanza if they'd like - that it would open it up a bit. Many on here seem to have read some of Jong's poetry - hopefully it will catch on enough to get at least several entries.
Thanks for noting. (I shall spam over the next day or so.)
Kim
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Very cool.
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Thank you for hosting an inspiring contest, Kimmie...Congratulations to Renee, Lute & Elaine, as well as the other entrants...Well done, one & all...Be well, Poets... Wanda
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Thank you for presenting me with the Gold trophy in this challenge. Erica Jong has been a writer I have admired since "A Fear of Flying". I am honored to have won a contest where her poetry was used as the inspiration for my writing.
Congratulations to all the winners. I love the form and will use it often.
Much Love ♥
Renee
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