Read • Contests • Groups • Learn • Forums • Store • Help
 

For the love of god CONFUSE ME

in the interest of commenting on every poem and doing an honest job of judging this contest, i need more time. i know this is taking ridiculously long but i'm lazy and a kind of busy person. so know that i'll leave a truthful thoughtful comment on your poem before this is judged. i would be pissed if somebody just glanced at my poem because there were a lot of others. so i won't do that. but god there are a lot of you guys.




i guess i resuscitated this contest because i've just been busy as hell recently so i haven't had time to sit down and work on this. actually, i just haven't particularly felt like judging it to be honest. it was the holidays so i was kinda busy but i had a lot of parties to go to and was lazy a lot. anyway i'm just extending the end date because i can't remember how much time i have left to judge it before they do it for me, and this gives me more time to give an honest effort. i will leave a comment on every poem, though 81 is so much thinking. so it could take a while. hopefully this won't backfire and result in me having way more poems to judge than i do now. but hey, no, more the merrier





FIRST NOTE: PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS. I FEEL IT WILL BENEFIT ANYONE AND EVERYONE ENTERING IF YOU JUST READ WHAT I HAVE TO SAY. IT'S NOT TOO TERRIBLY LONG AND I HOPE IT'S NOT HORRIFICALLY BORING EITHER. THANKS IN ADVANCE.
I WANT TO BE CONFUSED!!!!! PLEASE CONFUSE THE HELL OUT OF ME!!!!!!!

Alright, so I've only been a member of All Poetry for 6 months or so, but I'm already getting a little tired of the same old crap. Honestly, I featured one of my poems to try to get some "critical reviews", and someone seriously left a comment that read: "well done". I was like what the fucking hell? i shelled out 200 points to be told "well done"? goddamn.

Anyway, I hate straight-forward, literal poems. I get bored and I feel like I'm living in a big fat poetic cliche, as oxymoronic as that may sound. So please, please, give me a poem that makes me think. I want to have to look at it for a while just to understand what you're saying, and then have to look at it for a while longer to pry some kind of meaning from it.

I'll be honest in saying that reading poetry is not really something I love. Rather, I love writing it. But some poets do hit home for me, like Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson. Those are two obviously phenomenally talented poets, and while I abhorred being forced to explicate their poems in high school, I've since grown to truly appreciate the brilliance of their work on my own. Now I'm not saying I want you to emulate their style, but the way that their poems require a TON of effort to understand is a quality I'm looking for in this contest.

You can write about absolutely anything you want. I hate religion, but if you write an amazing poem about how you love Jesus that makes me think and actually says something other than "I love jesus and so should you", you could very well win the contest.

Ok, so I guess here are the rules. I won't be a nazi about them, so treat them more as guidelines.

1) I don't understand dirty pretty. I just don't get it. So please, don't utilize that particular style. If you feel like sending me a message and explaining exactly what the poetic value of dirty pretty is and you can explain how it works into the meaning of your poem, then I may make exceptions to this, but it'd better be good.

2) As I mentioned above, I am severely anti-religion, and I detest sappy poems about God and Jesus saving you and leading everyone to love and salvation. But again, as I mentioned already, if you can do it with style and make it thought-provoking I'll treat it with respect and if it's great it could win.

3) Please use correct grammar and punctuation. I understand that in poetry grammar and punctuation can be bent to elicit emotions and meaning, so what I'm talking about here is careless misspellings and idiotic phrasing that doesn't make sense. Also, if you're poem for instance is about crappy grammar and how that contributes to crappy poetry, then it would make sense if you purposefully misspelled certain words to make your point. But as always, do it in style and make it your own.

4) Please be original. Your poem can be about the most cliche topic on earth but you can still make it your own. Spin some bizarre metaphors, get weird, don't be afraid that I might get lost. THAT IS WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR!

5) Prewrites accepted. Enter as many times as you want, though if forced I would say no more than 3 per person so I don't get someone's entire collection. And if I make suggestions, I don't expect you to immediately change your poem to suit my taste, but at least consider them respectfully. And if I correct your grammar or spelling then I do expect and hope that you make those changes.

6) THINK ABOUT YOUR TITLES! The title to a poem is just as important as any other part of it. In most cases it should tie into the first line of your poem in one way or another, and it should also be alluded to somewhere in the poem. Be clever. One good technique that I use all the time is to pick the best line in your whole poem and make it your title. That doesn't always work, but most of the time it's a reasonably good choice.




I'm a cool guy. Trust me, everybody I know likes being around me, so just remember that I'm flexible and I am ALWAYS open to discussion of the rules and anything else really. If you have a question or a beef with me, tell me. I'll respect you more for it and will be more than happy to listen to what you have to say.

One last thing. Please keep in mind that I'm making all these suggestions and rules based on what I've learned about what makes a great poem. Don't think that since I'm insisting on all this stuff that I am a master poet that always does everything I want you to do. I fuck up too, and some of my poems suck ass, I'll admit. But do your best, be creative, original, and you should be just fine.

Good luck to everyone

Contest is Over

  • Contest was judged on February 10, 2008
  • Rewards: Gold: 300, Silver: 100, Bronze: 50
  • Final notes:
    ok so i bow my computer forehead in shame. i am sorry to everyone whose poem I didn't leave a comment on, but i just couldn't comment on all of them. i didn't count on reading 100 plus poems, and it was tough to finish. but please know that i absolutely did read every poem and i considered each one equally critically. if i didn't leave a comment please don't take it personally as it's because i'm simply a little commented out at this point. i had a very difficult time choosing the winners, and after the first 3 i would say they are all very close together in terms of quality. i got a lot of good poetry here, so thanks to everyone that entered. i was really pretty impressed with the quality for the most part. i was challenged quite a bit. well adios

Contest Winners

  1. Elemental Sonet XVIII: Eagle
    entity of earth and water wooden flight straining to at-one with air with fire--
    by micol 19 lines, 11 comments, on Nov 29 10:11 PM 2007. In Eagle, Sonnet
    Gold trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  2. Yin Yangs On Sweet Caustic Winds
    Yin Yangs On Sweet Caustic Winds
    Benevolence whispers; cold in night. Like winter’s sweet fumigatory wind.
    by SmileFromGlasgow 31 lines, 7 comments, on Jan 14 9:10 AM 2007
    Silver trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  3. Pride Goeth Before Fall
    Cat high-stepping
    plunges paw through crust
    by CarolDesjarlais 22 lines, 3 comments, on Dec 11 5:52 PM 2007. In Society
    Bronze trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. [remove]
  4. Bumblebees and Jewelweed
    Smooth and round, soft as clouds,
    you tip your head beneath her skirts,
    by IrishYndina 16 lines, 13 comments, on Oct 2 10:24 PM 2007
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  5. Machines
    Disturbing sites do field the flocks, To certain distance lands, or not.
    by Swintha 12 lines, 2 comments, on Dec 11 8:56 PM 2007. In Society, War
    • Viewed by judge. [remove]
  6. Faction
    by polly filla 28 lines, 11 comments, on May 20 1:23 PM 2007
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  7. Error: Unable to find finalist item 2239349, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
  8. Insanity's Reverie
    Melancholy smile
    the final fading remnants
    by Errant Panther 24 lines, 5 comments, on Dec 12 8:07 PM 2007. In Thoughts, Weird, Abstract
    • Commented on by judge. [remove]
  9. Error: Unable to find finalist item 3563822, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
  10. The Phantom Narwhale
    his halogenation is insurmountable
    and races to strip the slimy skins
    by GirlAnachronism 6 lines, 3 comments, on Mar 14 6:28 PM 2007
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  11. Surfacing
    I was a fish once,
    swimming
    by IrishYndina 26 lines, 15 comments, on Oct 11 3:24 PM 2007
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  12. My Deep See Dive.
    I once lay like a buffoon,
    face down in a scuba mask,
    by artis 34 lines, 8 comments, on Dec 11 9:58 PM 2007
    • Commented on by judge. [remove]
  13. Duality
    She ran through his lips
    and onto the page
    by demetrah10 25 lines, 3 comments, on Dec 11 7:09 PM 2007
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  14. Burning Flags
    Black fire, electrical wire
    Wrap the chain around the tire
    by Alpha Rats Nest 7 lines, 2 comments, on Jan 11 1:39 PM 2007
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  15. -Help Yourself into Humanity-
    Ropes hang in the air,
    while everyone waits for the elevator
    by Creatress 45 lines, 17 comments, on Aug 17 11:04 PM 2007. In Spiritual, Society, Humanity
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  16. Error: Unable to find finalist item 3697794, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
  17. Desirous Wanderings
    by Angel w o Wings 37 lines, 28 comments, on Nov 11 7:48 AM 2007
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  18. Snowflake heartbeat
    You stir me up and I can’t hide
    against the tempest rising
    by Kristina87 55 lines, 18 comments, on Dec 16 9:14 AM 2007. In Life, Nature, Personal
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  19. Secret Space
    I'm running out of ideas. / Gardens of cosmos, / more than just a living fossils. / The void above is fueled by dragonslies. / Oh I hate to
    by Creatress 50 lines, 19 comments, on Jun 28 6:07 PM 2007. In Thoughts, Humanity, Conspiracy
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]

Entries [63]

1 - 63 of 63

Add a comment

    : Comment:

Comments

1 - 5 of 5

  • aeolia
    December 11, 2007
    Edit | Reply
    Bookmarked!

    Sounds like a great [fair!!] contest. I share your pain of having to read straightforward work... ugh. 99.9% of it fails.

    I hope I can write something worthy, lol.


    • polly filla
      December 14, 2007
      Edit | Reply
      I've entered 1 'straightforward' piece in this contest, not because I want to deliberately disregard the rules, but because smokerings' talked about religious poetry in the notes---it's my opinion that religious writing should be straightforward---there's enough esoteric hierarchy's in religion speaking in tongues and giving each other funny handshakes as it is without adding to the jumble; if I'm going to express my thoughts about 'the chosen ones who know' I'd feel better if I was generally understood by everyone


  • Errant Panther gold member
    December 12, 2007
    Edit | Reply

    Challenging Concept

    I've bookmarked this, and will see what I can come up with to intrigue your mind. Hopefully I can meet your challenge in time.


  • Creatress
    December 12, 2007
    Edit | Reply
    you do seem like a cool guy. I rarely enter a contest more than once but I felt the need to share with you.
    Thanks for the good contest, they can be as boring as the poetry on here


  • Midnight-Engaged
    January 10, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    Sweet! This is going to be just awesome! I'm even writing a poem that will be perfect for it!

1 - 5 of 5