Jeff and Sue welcome you to the greatest test of Rhyme and Flow on AP. This round the theme is "Old". Now exactly what that means, is up to you. Old age, old music, old friends, the universe, use it how you will, but if your metaphors are deep, you better explain them!!!
Some changes from the last time we were here, first, thanks to generous donations we have MUCH bigger prizes. We hope to pick up more donations so we can continue to give large numbers of HMs
Each round will have a "Dalaney" contest, this is a sort of beginners prize. All the contests stand alone, you may enter any number of rounds or all of them.
Also this time two entries per round per poet, and only one of these can be a pre-write.
1 5000 gold 2000 silver 1000 bronze Summertime
Never-ending Summer by Amera and Summer's Inspiration by PerVirtuous joint winners Breathe, a Land in Wait by One Angry Monkey Bronze
2 2500 gold 1000 silver 500 bronze Children's
Twinkle Toes by Gwenevere Gold, The Magic Train
by NeonRose Silver, The Color Poem by Amera bronze
3 2500 gold 1000 silver 500 bronze New; Shopping (Trijan Refrain) by Amera, gold; In Medeas Res ... Retourne by ecrivain01 silver; Hiding Place Gwenevere, bronze
4 2500 gold 1000 silver 500 bronze Fantasy - Aflame in Fiery Death by One Angry Monkey gold; Shape Shifter by Amera silver; The Dragon at Retal by ecrivain01
5 2500 gold 1000 silver 500 bronze Villanelle by Vera Rich gold Sonnette - Love by pania Silver A Fantasy, Perhaps by NeonRose bronze
6 2500 gold 1000 silver 500 bronze The Wall - still running
7 2500 gold 1000 silver 500 bronze *** Old ***
8 2500 gold 1000 silver 500 bronze Memories
9 2500 gold 1000 silver 500 bronze Feelings
10 6000 gold 3000 silver 1000 bronze Grand Finale (Subject to be decided)
This below illustrates something of the sort of poetry we are looking for, no-one has written us a new example poem so I did!
Impressing the judges
Flowing like butter on toast in the morning
Oil in an engine, or water downhill
Rhyme like a bell that is rung for a warning
Clock on a church spire when weather is still
The poems we seek are all rhyming and flowing
Beautifully worded and sounding like song
If you're a poet with talent for showing
Then this is a contest that cannot go wrong
Sonnets and villanelles, ottava rima
Anything rhyming with meter sublime
On ode or a ballad that tells of a dreamer
No awkward corners and plenty of rhyme
Triplets or monorhyme, couplets or rubai
Exact and not slanting if you want to win
Form found in Texas or somewhere near Dubai
Just pull up your muse and it's time to begin
Look at the theme and then write us a beauty
Edit and polish it make sure it shines
Careful attention's a good poet's duty
Match up the sounds of the words on the lines
All of the entries are read by the judges
Three or four times in our heads and aloud
So if you write rhyme and you never bear grudges
Write us a verse that will make you feel proud
In other words what we are after is poetry that rhymes, and we both strongly favour exact rhyming, and poetry that flows.
We both love poems in other forms but this contest is for rhyme and flow. Formed or unformed doesn't matter, so a sonnet has as much or as little chance as a loose ballad.
Judging:
We set a standard for rhyme and flow, all poems that meet that standard reach the final, although we both strongly prefer exact rhyming (that is defined by my dictionary as an identity of sound from the last stressed vowel sound to the end of the words) we have always allowed a small amount of leeway but don't push your luck, more than a couple of slant rhymes in a long poem, more than a couple of places where only an unstressed syllable rhymes and you won't win. Once we have assessed a poem as good enough for the final we mark on meeting the theme, the content and what we call the poetry, that is the rhyme, flow, meter etc. During the judging we will remove some poems from the final, this is just to make it easier on ourselves re-ordering the finalists. All poems are read at least twice, all finalists at least twice more, and the nearer you are to the prizes the more work we will put in.
These are not "Form contests" we are not marking against "rules" so if you have a Villanelle where you modified the repeat lines a bit, that is fine here. They are also not spelling tests, we do want you to get everything right but unless the spelling and punctuation mean we find it hard to understand, we won't punish you heavily.
Finally they are our contests, and we decide!!! If we prefer one poem to another it will win!
Part 6
Old
Interpret this how you will but please no CUTTING or SUICIDE. We both enjoy "adult" poetry but we want all our competitors to be able to read your entries here so no erotica, even if it fits the theme. Be creative here!!!
AMAZE US PLEASE!!!
You may enter two poems each, but only one may be a pre-write. However you will not win two prizes so if you have the best two poems in a contest do not be surprised if one does not place, we will have worked hard to choose the right one (for us!) from your entries.
If you have not won a major cup from us, or two or more HMs you can enter the Dalaney contest that will run in parallel.
Dalaney cup winners are invited to this contest where they are automatic finalists.
The pictures are only for show and are not the prompt, but you may use them for inspiration if you so desire.
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on August 15, 2008
- Rewards: Gold: 2500, Silver: 1000, Bronze: 500, Honorable mention: 9 people
- Final notes: Another contest in the series judged, another tiring session for the judges.
EarthtoJim wins this time with a comic masterpiece, Vera follows with a poem written in fluent Lunnun then Grey Squirrel a new winner for us takes the bronze, the next three poets, ecrivain01, Allan Emery and Peripatetic were clearly above the rest in our marking so they all get extra points (100, 75, 50).
The standard this round was very high and we had a lot of work to sort you all out. Thanks so much for keeping our series at this high standard and keep entering the later rounds please.
Jeff and Sue
Contest Winners
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 4479053, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
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Raise the anchor, set the sail ...
lest the wind begin to fail.• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
The quiet comes longer and each day there’s more
and life once jubilant, exciting, and fast• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
The sun dips below,
With a brilliant glow,by One Angry Monkey 40 lines, 7 comments, on Jul 28 10:11 AM 2008. In Nature, Rhythm, Australian, Aussie
Honorable mention
• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
Deep silence hung like curtains inside the darkened hall Soft whispers lurked in corners, a cross hung on the wall• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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Take out the doors and air the rooms,
and dust them off with feathered brooms.• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove] -
• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
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Your legacy of words construe
A mind in keen array ...by waydownuponjoy 27 lines, 7 comments, on Aug 1 8:47 AM 2008. In Contest, Big points, Flow, Lotsa fun, Meter, Rhyme Honorable mention
• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
You once admired my clock so now I’m dead, its yours,• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
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Does age really matter, when you’re old and grey?
I find it rather fun to choose the age I’ll be today.• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove] -
Make this world a better place
by being there for those• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove] -
So many mistakes, broken dreams
worn by age, feelings too extremes.• Commented on by judge. [remove] - Error: Unable to find finalist item 4446107, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
Silver trophy winner
Bronze trophy winner
Entries [36]
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bedecked in Lapis Lazuli
millenia pass tediouslyby liltandrhyme 19 lines, 6 comments, on May 24 5:37 PM 2005. In Society• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
Trip though the pages of my mind
rest my thoughts in an old toy box.• Commented on by judge. -
eternity rises with the dawn
nightfall climbs with a lusty yawn• Commented on by judge. -
• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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But is he content? Just look in his eyes
There’s a depth that you may just misread ...by waydownuponjoy 34 lines, 4 comments, on Jan 24 7:48 AM 2008. In Contest, Creative, Imagery, Soulful philosophy• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
Dedicated to Richard Wilson as Victor Meldrew & all alike!
Photo:• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
Radio ga ga they sit senile in their chairs,
Four blank walls around them, with death-like stares.• Commented on by judge. -
With faded map and not a clue they dug
to find a twisted spoon and broken mug,• Commented on by judge. -
The little clapboard house had never felt paint,
and as far as I know it never did.
• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
no more than 20 lines• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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The birches are balding on Amity Hill.
In brown mounds their old friends lay still• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
Straight as an arrow is My Vision, but yet My Balance seems blurry.
I strive and fight to do whats right, but sometimes Hope seems to scurby CrazyC87 97 lines, 8 comments, on Jul 18 3:13 PM 2008• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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Thankyou
Many thanks for the HM, Ros
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