...We must have
the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless
furnance of this world....
Jack Gilbert
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Five Roses in the Morning
by Stephen Dunn
On TV the showbiz of war,
so I turn it off
wishing I could turn it off,
and glance at the five white roses
in front of the mirror on the mantel,
looking like ten.
That they were purchased out of love
and are not bloody red
won't change a goddamn thing -
goddamn things, it seems, multiplying
every day. Last night
the roses numbered six, but she chose
to wear one in her hair,
and she was more beautiful
because she believed she was.
It changed the night a little.
For us, I mean.
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Write something for this contest that you would seriously consider sending to a publisher,
whether you win or not, place or not, because that is exactly what I hope you will do.
- write like you mean it
- write like it is important to you
- write with spirit and not for show
- get serious
- no prose
- solid backgrounds only
- pictures okay as long as they don't blink
- left justified
___________________________________________________________________
1st Prize - Nicolette van der Walt's book (fire lily: flower of the flame)
2nd Prize - 34th Parallel volume II (author edition)
3rd Prize - The Paris Review Book (anthology)
~ honorable mention prizes: Telling Tales (anthology of short stories); The Paris Review (fall/winter 2005); marlene by mariarosa sclauzero; Zoetrope All Story (fall 2006).
~ contest is for US residents only due to the postage costs and my last contest like this
was nearly all international and the postage was steep...unless someone wants to
donate the international postage, then I will love to include the whole world...
you know I will too! EXCEPTION: international poets, if you have a US based friend
that is willing to accept the prize for you, should you win, then you can enter...
____________________________________________________________________
I welcome Nicolette and Poetryality as co-judges! You can ask them questions while I am
on vacation....they will know the answers.
____________________________________________________________________
~ oh, and be a good sport....enter for the love, challenge and community of it...
no trophy hogging or mud baths....
~ image: woman with wings by rick visser (thank you rebeka)
____________________________________________________________________
I will be on vacation through January 2, 2008!
Happy Holi-days!
Zayra
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on January 5, 2008
- Rewards: Gold: 1000, Silver: 700, Bronze: 500, Honorable mention: 4 people
- Final notes:
Thank you for submitting some wonderful poetry. We enjoyed reading all of the entries!
The poems in this contest are high quality, so we hope you will all feel really good about your work and consider sending it out to publishers and editors.
You definitely will want to read the poems in the finalist category and winning placement, as they are top of the line in demonstrating spirit and craft.
If you are in the finalist category you will need to send your US based mailing address so that Zayra can mail your prizes.
Again, we thank you for your time, energy and spirit in sharing your poetry.
Many Blessings,
Zayra, Nicolette & Renee
Contest Winners
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• Commented on by judge. [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3749048, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3742194, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3762658, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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• Commented on by judge. [remove]
Gold trophy winner
Honorable mention
Entries [14]
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of everything, almost nothing would remain inside the chest, but solitudeby spiritualangel 29 lines, 4 comments, on Dec 20 3:09 AM 2007. In Contemporary, Sad, Pain, Thoughts• Commented on by judge.
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Squinting with eyes into the night,
dread feelings there in starlite bright.• Commented on by judge. -
by le soir 95 lines, 4 comments, on Dec 21 11:09 PM 2007• Commented on by judge.
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by S A Adelmann 41 lines, 8 comments, on Dec 30 11:31 PM 2007. In Adult• Commented on by judge.
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silence is a word
not spoken• Commented on by judge. -
by amaranthine lover 26 lines, 11 comments, on Jan 2 9:05 AM 2008. In Contest, Fantasy, Contemporary, Abstract, Dark, Nature, noguest• Commented on by judge.
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She ended each day as she started Closed eyes, looking at her world• Commented on by judge.
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I put the stiches in my heart, while it was still beating.• Commented on by judge.
Add a comment
Comments
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I guess I won't be entering this one but I love what you're asking for here - and again, you are the inspiration, Zayra. Thank you...
~ Nicolette
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Well, you are welcome to help judge it.
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Awww, this is a really nice contest idea. Too bad I can't enter. But good luck with the entries you get.
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I remember you did win in the last one.
I will hold an international one again in the spring unless someone offers to donate the postage...they might, you know...so keep it bookmarked.
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Ah AP won't let me post this as a reply... anyway, yes. I don't know how one would go about the postage, but that's ok. Your contests are really generous and the more different winners, the better
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Hi Zayra Will it be possible to join and give you an address of a friend in California in case I win. I live in the Philippines but I have friends in the North American region.
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YES! In fact, that is a great idea! I will add that to the contest....
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Thanks so much that would be great.
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i recognized this art, credit for image belongs to Rick Visser ..this was selected for Literary Anthology Cover Art recently
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For US residents only?
Damnit.
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god this is beautiful....
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Awe I love this contest idea.
Do you want us to write to the picture or anything we want? -
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Anything you want
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Ripe with inspiration!
This will be a blast to write for. Whatever I come up with and enter, please disregard mine for judging. I'm doin' this one as if the piece I get from reflection on the excellent prompts is the real prize. That, after all, is why I do contests. I win by writing for them.
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Congrats, Sweetness. I agree with Zayra; you should publish this one, my Friend. Sweet Pea
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I would pay for postage, if I won. Like your contests like this. Can reimburse you for the last win if you like.
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You can enter and if you win then either someone can accept your prize and send it or you can send a money order for the postage...and please, nevermind the postage from last time, I was prepared to do it....this time if I had all international wins I would go broke...sorry I got a kid that just started to drive and enter college.
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Awesome
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i wood enter, but i dont writ so good and i dont live inna the United States. i live in Arkansas.
good luk
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Yeahhh, like I do. I live in Oklahoma, as all y'all know.
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I can't enter (English) but these prompts inspired me to write Vivisection, my first poem in ages, so. thankyou.
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wonderful contest...PK
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Love this one.... didn't know it was here... but I can't enter
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Now that I think about it, I am truly inspired by the prompt. I have viewed a few entries and know the competition is really stiff. Whew! Glad I'm helping to judge. Thanks for having me lovely lady. Enjoy your vacation!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Always ♥
Renee
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Thank you for hosting & for being 3 of the most gracious & loveliest people I know, Zayra, Nic & Renee. Congratulations to everyone, as all put forth a remarkable effort for an incredibly~inspiring contest. Be well, Poets & Scribes. Wanda
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thank you so much.. xo
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Read This Contest!
Thank you to three amazing judges. You know how much I respect all of you. {yeah, I know that'll cost me a point in a future contest fer brown-nosin', but I'm kinda over caring that much.lol.}
Everyone, This thing is full of EXCELLENT, INSPIRING, work. Disregard mine, and read from the top down untill your mind is awash in examples of how you can sharpen your own work.I seldom read a list of poetry of this quality in one spot here.
Thanks to the host for inspiring a list of pieces that will make me write better for having read them.
Peace
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thank you so much~ i'm excited - let me go message Jaden
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congrats to all the winners
to all of you
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Thank you so very much~~I am so honored to be included with these wonderful poets. I spent the day in bed yesterday sick, so I didn't get the chance until today to say thank you to the judges, and to tell you that finding this today was truly exciting--really.
Thank you for the inspiration, and congratulations to all you entered. I think we are all better poets for finding and participating in this wonderful contest
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Thank you so much for the HM ladies and congratulations to the other winners.
Adding your comment:
