St Clement's Day is almost here - so busy as I am, I thought to have a very quick competition on the relevant subject of "Oranges and/or Lemons".
But even though it IS a quick competition (it will run only through the current working week). I should still like entries to be presented carefully, and will give bonus points to all entrants who follow the requirements exactly
SO PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING VERY CAREFULLY.
1) Please note that the SUBJECT is "Oranges and/or Lemons" , and entries should have some clear relevance to this subject. (PLEASE note, it is not a "prompt" - which I understand means a phrase that launches the imagination to roam where it will!)
2) There is no constraint on length, nor of form. However, it is strongly recommended that the hardest of all forms - free verse - should be left to the most experienced! WARNING: please, if you use a classic form, do not, I repeat NOT, name the form nor explain it, since this is a practice that I strongly deprecate, and is likely to influence me subconciously against your entry.
3) You may enter as many times as you wish. As usual with my competitions, there will be bonus points for all relevant "previously written" entries that adhere to the rules of the competition.
4) Presentation: (A) I am perfectly well aware of what oranges and lemons look like, whether on their trees, or on the fruiterer's stall trees or metamorphosed into juice or marmalade. I also know what the traditional children's game looks like, AND for that matter, the "Oranges and Lemons" church, which for more than 20 years I used to pass almost every day!... As for the "Orange Revolution"... well, I was myself present at the height and heart of it....
So, PLEASE, NO ILLUSTRATIONS. "TELL me, do NOT show me!"
(B) PLEASE remember, too, that I have rather poor sight. Normally I request black typing on a white ground. For this competition, I am prepared to accept also black typing on a pale lemon or pale orange ground. But PLEASE: No other colour schemes!!!
5) NOTES. and EXPLANATIONS... A poem should ideally contain all necessary information within itself. As far as possible, try to avoid notes. If your poem has been inspired by some quotation you feel should be mentioned and credited, this should be done as an epigraph, at the head of the poem,. between the title and the first line.
If you feel you really MUST add a note, e.g. to explain some rare dialectal word or a little-known historical fact, then please do so in your OWN words - not as a link to some on-line "authority.
But PLEASE: No personal details or explanations of how and why you were inspired to write the poem. Such material is at the best irrelevant, and in most cases detrimental to the effect of the poem.
6) SPELLING and grammar are important means of conveying your intended meaning. However, I would much rather cope with your own "human" spelling errors than the often ludicrous ones introduced by spell-check devices. PLEASE disable your spell-checker if you can... or if you are unable to do so, then please read your entries carefully and eliminate any false "corrections" it may have introduced.
7) PLEASE do not comment on other people's entries until the results of the competition have been announced. There will be bonus points for meaningful comments made during the week following the announcement of the results.
8) I am initially putting in only the minimum 400 points for "Gold!". However, provided that there are a reasonable number of relevant and meritorious entries, points wil be added for up to the top 10 places.
9). I shall not open any entries until the competition closes. However, I may look at the list from time to time, to see how the entries are coming in, and should much prefer NOT to see isolated lines from your entries in advance, as such a "taster" can destroy impact of the lines- and hence of the entire poem, when I come to read it. So please put the '.' symbol in the appropriate box(es) when entering your poem(s)
10) As I said, I am very busy at the moment. I hope the above rules have made my requirements sufficiently clear. If, however, you find something ambiguous or confusing in them, please send me an IM message!
I look forward to receiving your entries.
But even though it IS a quick competition (it will run only through the current working week). I should still like entries to be presented carefully, and will give bonus points to all entrants who follow the requirements exactly
SO PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING VERY CAREFULLY.
1) Please note that the SUBJECT is "Oranges and/or Lemons" , and entries should have some clear relevance to this subject. (PLEASE note, it is not a "prompt" - which I understand means a phrase that launches the imagination to roam where it will!)
2) There is no constraint on length, nor of form. However, it is strongly recommended that the hardest of all forms - free verse - should be left to the most experienced! WARNING: please, if you use a classic form, do not, I repeat NOT, name the form nor explain it, since this is a practice that I strongly deprecate, and is likely to influence me subconciously against your entry.
3) You may enter as many times as you wish. As usual with my competitions, there will be bonus points for all relevant "previously written" entries that adhere to the rules of the competition.
4) Presentation: (A) I am perfectly well aware of what oranges and lemons look like, whether on their trees, or on the fruiterer's stall trees or metamorphosed into juice or marmalade. I also know what the traditional children's game looks like, AND for that matter, the "Oranges and Lemons" church, which for more than 20 years I used to pass almost every day!... As for the "Orange Revolution"... well, I was myself present at the height and heart of it....
So, PLEASE, NO ILLUSTRATIONS. "TELL me, do NOT show me!"
(B) PLEASE remember, too, that I have rather poor sight. Normally I request black typing on a white ground. For this competition, I am prepared to accept also black typing on a pale lemon or pale orange ground. But PLEASE: No other colour schemes!!!
5) NOTES. and EXPLANATIONS... A poem should ideally contain all necessary information within itself. As far as possible, try to avoid notes. If your poem has been inspired by some quotation you feel should be mentioned and credited, this should be done as an epigraph, at the head of the poem,. between the title and the first line.
If you feel you really MUST add a note, e.g. to explain some rare dialectal word or a little-known historical fact, then please do so in your OWN words - not as a link to some on-line "authority.
But PLEASE: No personal details or explanations of how and why you were inspired to write the poem. Such material is at the best irrelevant, and in most cases detrimental to the effect of the poem.
6) SPELLING and grammar are important means of conveying your intended meaning. However, I would much rather cope with your own "human" spelling errors than the often ludicrous ones introduced by spell-check devices. PLEASE disable your spell-checker if you can... or if you are unable to do so, then please read your entries carefully and eliminate any false "corrections" it may have introduced.
7) PLEASE do not comment on other people's entries until the results of the competition have been announced. There will be bonus points for meaningful comments made during the week following the announcement of the results.
8) I am initially putting in only the minimum 400 points for "Gold!". However, provided that there are a reasonable number of relevant and meritorious entries, points wil be added for up to the top 10 places.
9). I shall not open any entries until the competition closes. However, I may look at the list from time to time, to see how the entries are coming in, and should much prefer NOT to see isolated lines from your entries in advance, as such a "taster" can destroy impact of the lines- and hence of the entire poem, when I come to read it. So please put the '.' symbol in the appropriate box(es) when entering your poem(s)
10) As I said, I am very busy at the moment. I hope the above rules have made my requirements sufficiently clear. If, however, you find something ambiguous or confusing in them, please send me an IM message!
I look forward to receiving your entries.
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on January 30
- Rewards: Gold: 400, Silver: 100, Bronze: 90, Honorable mention: 5 people
- Final notes: These remarks will have to be brief... I am feeling far from well...
As this was a rather quick competition, I knew I could not expect many entries - and certainly some of those that did come in were rather far from the subject - using the fruit as metaphor for a relationship rather than as a subject in their own right. Well, certainly one of the aims of my competitions is to encourage people to re-enter existing work - but one or two new pieces were very far off-beam. Indeed, one person sent in a poem about Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - no, they were NOT eating Seville oranges (the ones from which one makes marmalade, and which, incidentally, are too sour to eat!) - apparently he misread the title as "Apples and Oranges" - and the poem was about DQ and SP's different viewpoints - well, transatlantic members will doubtless understand the connection! Unforttunately, he has now withdrawn the poem - so you will have no chance to read it - a pity, since it was an interesting piece, even if ineligible for this competition!
In placing the poems, I took into account not only poetic merit, but also relevance to the subject - and at the same time comprehensibility. One in particular contained a couple of neologism that I found puzzling. And as regular entrants to my competitions will know, form and technique matter to me a great deal. Likewise, I dislike gloom and doom - but mercifully this completition was largely free of that!
As for the individual poems - well, I think in most cases my comments under them will give you some idea of my reactions.
As usual, there will be points for all in the top 10; the first three will get theirs automatically through the system; then come 5 Honourable Mentions also awarded through the system. However, the 30 points which these competitors will receive from the system will be topped up in due course, to a total of 70 for 4th place, 60 for 5th place, and so on down to 30 for 8th place. Then, finally, there will be 20 points for 9th place and 10 points for 10th place.
On top of that, there will be a bonus of 20 points for each "previously written" entry and a 5 point bonus for "new" poems.
HOWEVER: "Topping-up" and the award of bonus points will take place only AFTER the "commenting period" (see below) is over. PLEASE do not remove your poems prematurely, or you will not get your bonus points.
The COMMENTING PERIOD will run until 9.00 am London time on Friday next, 6 February. Entrants who comment on other people's entries uring this period will be eligible for a 50 point bonus.
To gain such a bonus you must:
Comment on three entries by different poents, each comment must be at least 50 words long (excluding quotations) and written in good style, avoiding text-speech, slang and jargon. Please note that ONLY comments made during the commenting period count towards the bonus = if for some reason you have already commented on some else's entries, this comment will not count towards your bonus.
I look forward to reading your comments in due course.
Thank you all for entering the competition...
Contest Winners
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by I-Am-Custard 34 lines, 2 comments, on Mar 16 1:42 PM 2008. In Thoughts, Freeverse
Bronze trophy winner
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by Porcelain Princess 49 lines, 24 comments, on Mar 25 7:15 PM 2008• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
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One of my many usernames.• Viewed by judge. Prewrite [remove]
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Gold trophy winner
Silver trophy winner
Honorable mention
Entries [15]
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