This is the new and improved version of both the Periodic Poetry Contest and the Haiku Contest. From this point out, both contests will be combined into one massive contest for everyone to enjoy! And as such, each user is allowed to enter is both contests with separate entries if they so desire, effectively doubling the odds of winning. Each contest (One being general poetry and the other exclusively haiku) will have one winner every month. Every month, two winners (one from each contest shall be chosen and receive a merit for all their hard work. Show it off to your friends, gloat about it to your enemies! Tell your parents about it and confuse them! It's a win-win-win-win-win scenario, folks.
Rules
General Poetry Contest: - It must fit the theme if the month (same theme as the Haiku Contest). - It must be submitted by the deadline. - It cannot have inappropriate language in it. - It cannot be stolen (if you plagiarize, we will find you). - The poem must be created for this contest - A user cannot win twice in a row (though everyone is welcome to submit every month!) - Only one submission per user will be accepted
Once a month a winner will be chosen from all the received entries. To begin, the Moderation/Administration Team will act as judges and choose winners. Subject to change depending on how well things go. The winner will then make a comment on the ContestWinners profile to receive a merit. (Original idea by ubertuna, itemized rules by DragonMistress, modified by Devoidless)
Haiku Contest "A Haiku is a Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, traditionally invoking an aspect of nature or the seasons." Well, that said, here are the rules: - It must fit the theme of the month (same as General Poetry Contest) -The haiku must be original (no plagiarizing)! - It must be submitted before the deadline - It must be created for the contest (no using works previously written) - One submission per user - The same user cannot win twice in a row (but they are welcome to submit!)
Once a month a winner will be chosen from all the received entries. To begin, the Moderation/Administration Team will act as judges and choose winners. Subject to change depending on how well things go. The winner will then make a post on the ContestWinners profile to receive a merit. (Original idea and itemized rules by Maverick4, modified by Devoidless) First Themes The first themes to kick off this contest shall be: - The theme for the General Poetry contest this run is "Touch of Truth".
- The theme for the Haiku contest is "Broken Bond". Submitting an entry Since there are two separate contests, users are required to mention in the post which contest they wish to use the entry for. Any entry without this is subject to not being entered into either contest. Examples of how to clarify which contest an entry is for: -
This poem is for the General Poetry contest
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-This is for the Haiku contest
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I'd like to enter this for the General Poetry/Haiku contest
Remember, each user is allowed to join both contests!
Alright! Looking forward to seeing what you all can create! Good luck, and have fun with it!
By my count there were 12 poems that fit the theme
Yeah I trust Emp's count a lot more than yours. I'm also assuming you counted mine as one that "didn't fit the theme"..despite mine screaming the theme at you if you understood what is going on in you
I'm 13 years old. I want to judge next time.
1) Devoid has already established the judges
2) To be honest..if any non-mod/admin was to be judge..I would hope it would be either Emp, joel, dragonball, Murasaki, or myself. (not trying to sound arrogant here)
3) You do not demand if you get to judge next time. Even if they were to let a user be a judge..you have to prove to them that you have the capabilities to adequately judge a poem and be able to understand what the author is saying and any messages they are trying to convey
You could be brainstorming ideas or practicing for the next round if you really want to write more poetry.
If we had the theme, we'd be doing that. That's why I usually gave it early when I was a judge. Without it, there's no focus and the complaints keep coming.
if any non-mod/admin was to be judge..I would hope it would be either Emp, joel, dragonball, Murasaki, or myself.
Or Mav or Ernie or Parsat.
And realistically, with taking only 1 minute per haiku and 2 minutes per poem
I may think of something that "sounds good"..but then, when the theme comes..I may find that I have no need for it at all.
Also..going with the poem following the theme in mind..with the theme in mind..I can properly decide where I might want to have alliteration, rhetoric devices, sensory devices, etc to give emphasis to certain parts to express the theme more clearly or with more complexity
At long last, the long awaited conclusion to the first round of the General Poetry Contest is here! You can read this pre-announcement spiel and prolong the agony, or you can just skip down the page. Such delays are not anticipated for the future of this contest, but they are inevitable when there are competing interests for time and attention.
While we, the moderators, did not choose the themes, we judged according to our interpretations of the theme and the niceties of poetry. It was a challenge working with discordant opinions, especially when we cannot agree upon a winner but the finalists were clear. A clear, but not necessarily literal, interpretation of the theme paired with strong poetic form make for a strong contender. The finalists and winners embody these principles in exemplars of elegant expression. You spoil us with your splendor and a judgement we must render.
We hope it was worth the wait.
The finalists and winners are below, but first, the Honorable Mention:
GENERAL POETRY CONTEST Honorable Mention anatolytt: Roses are red Elephant is blue. It's going to be mine, It's of no use to you.
For its hilarious analysis that unfortunately did not have a touch of truth to it in the end.
Honorable Mention TackyCrazyTNT: Death is the only touch that's true, Don't listen to her gleaming eyes Red lips will always fade to blue.
The high and low, the middle too, Ignore the sound of their own cries. Death is the only touch that's true.
Measuring their bloody words to chew, Spitting them through weary lives. But red lips will always fade to blue.
They try to hide (as cowards do), Building their castles scraping high, But Death is the only touch that's true.
It comes to them, no better than you, Buries them under dirt and sky-- Red lips will always fade to blue.
The bards will still sing as if they knew, That until still tongues forever lie. Death is the only touch that's true, And Red lips will always fade to blue.
For its rhyme and imagery, the lips in particular.
Third Place VioletFang: To goals and marks Containing no reasons And seasons, like me Are changing, but never noticed Through walls and floors One slip to regret To forget, returning But finding mistakes In a life of speed Against not the brain But a train, as another To see but never feel All repetition Familiar acts No hard facts, just life With many masters Completely safe To be hunted not For a thought, or ivory Or the nameless color Surrounded still Iâve seen much Not enough, lacking lots Knowledge forever confined Yet I feel joy Through many a life Not one strife, I smile I am just as much wonderful To goals and marks Containing no reasons And seasons, like me Never fail to please
For its rhyme and rhythm.
Before we continue, there was a hair's difference between first and second places. It was this decision that held up most of the judging. What is interesting here is that both share a motif of sight and blindness.
Second Place Kysier: I stand before the waning light Bowed beneath the reddened sky I walk with the end in sight I wonder, was it a sweet lie
I traveled this long broken road With one simple hope in mind Would the truth be bestowed When I left it all behind
As I watch the shadows near I close my eyes and softly pray Please make the purpose clear Let me know on this final day
Soon the room would grow so cold Leaving a world so defiled The truth pulling at the blindfold I closed my eyes and I smiled.
For its story, its imagery, its rhythm, and punctuation or lack thereof.
First Place wolf1991: All thoughts of this are blind, And in blindness I see All the inbetweens, that tread So carefully between the lines. With soft glances, and harsh Movements, I find a way. To shield my eyes; dry As they must be, for you, (Always for you) have left. All thoughts of this are blind.
For its tone, its subtle interpretation, and secondary themes.
HAIKU CONTEST Third Place Parsat: Swirling clouds of luck: The way the sigma bounces Stable resonance
For its action.
Second Place dazzadaman: Sushi Cat at mall Dog comes and steals wife away Will be seen again?
For its simplicity.
First Place doomy64: A boy and his dog The dog was taken away Sadness struck the boy
For its bare-bones simplicity and depth.
Congratulations wolf1991 and doomy64. Post your winning entries to ContestWinners to receive your merit.
Is there any way I can get feedback on my haiku? I think it is one of the first I have ever done let alone submit to a contest.
- I want to know if I was in the proper format. - If I fit the theme (I thought it did and have my reasoning behind it fitting), but it may not have. - The weaknesses in the haiku.
I understand it is time consuming though, but since I'm new to it I need to know how to improve :]
There were about at least 50 entries total. No way we could provide in-depth judgement for everyone and there are conflicting opinions on the top three for both anyway. I'll see what I can do, but I make no promises.
I may have been the one to make an announcement about removing the merits, but I am not behind the revamp and I have nothing to do with the creation and running of this contest up until this point and the ones who are behind running this contest didn't have any input at the time the merits were removed as they weren't around. I'm sure if I didn't step in at all for this contest, this would have gone for a couple more days at the very least with less than desirable attention.
I'm not one for unilateral action, but I'll do what I have to when I need to. Unilateral decisions are always easier and it would've been done in a timely manner if it were up to one person. I wholeheartedly prefer consensus, and anyone who's worked in a group if not a team knows how hard it is to get, especially when it's a group that doesn't meet physically and are only obligated to participate insofar as their schedules and priorities allow. We had already come to a decision on the 7th and it took the three days before that to choose the winner for the General Poetry Competition. By a hair's difference does mean by a hair's difference. Unfortunately, Devoidless decided to get busy with life and not post the judgment two weeks back. The situation is unfavorable, but there's nothing that can be done about it now.
The judgment currently more verily reflects my choices and my opinions, but it does include what input there was in building consensus on the winners. What it does lack but should have is how well it represents the theme and that was an oversight on my part. Unfortunately, no one seems to have brought that up. I can tell you why I think, exactly, down to the smallest details, those who won should have won over the others, as this exactly matches my choices for who should win, but I refrain from completely editorializing this, as it would preclude the reasons overall why it is the way it is, and because I honestly don't know what's up this contest. I don't know where this is going, and I don't know where this will end up, but this is supposed to have the team judging the entries. If Devoidless becomes unbusy and can retake the reigns and bring this back on track to what it should be.
One last thing: I honestly don't think it's possible get full input on all entries from multiple people in a week when a top three and honorable mentions should suffice, especially not when a blue elephant(?) was at stake. I'm not sure what's going on with that, but I hope whoever's behind that figures it out. Future rounds will probably have less entrants, but I still don't see a possibility of input on all entries from each judge. People have higher priorities than to get in-depth on poems. However, you can certainly get my analysis if you ask.
Some people need to go to full-time school, in order to keep other people happy, to worry about their future, and in order to stay inside the law.
That has got to be one of the most impertinent things ever said and it's not even the most impertinent. Unless you are an adult or even younger person who lives independently from his parents and works to pay for rent, food, and clothes to support himself, kindly stop typing. I don't know what Devoidless's life is like or his current circumstances, but I do know that life isn't easy. When you're still going through school full-time but aren't even paying for your schooling, food, and room, life is easy. Tell me life is easy once you get out of school or if you're still in school and paying for everything yourself, and then tell me it's easy for the average person, and then tell me it's easy for everyone because everyone starts from the same square, and then tell me you're full of it and then and only then will I believe you. If relationship issues and making people happy are your biggest worries, you aren't living a very hard life.
And in other news, the theme may be announced tomorrow.
What it does lack but should have is how well it represents the theme and that was an oversight on my part. Unfortunately, no one seems to have brought that up
Unfortunately, Devoidless decided to get busy with life and not post the judgment two weeks back. The situation is unfavorable, but there's nothing that can be done about it now.
Ah, that happened with acmed right before I was supposed to judge for the first time. 'Tis indeed a tragedy.
I honestly don't think it's possible get full input on all entries from multiple people in a week when a top three and honorable mentions should suffice
Just have voters select the top 5 or so for each contest with some reasoning, and go from there. Maybe another vote+reasons on the top 2 or 3 vote-getters from the 1st round, so some good points are already made and all that's left is compiling them. If they abstain or are unable to vote within x-days of the end of the contest, too bad, but they can still give feedback.
If Devoidless becomes unbusy and can retake the reigns and bring this back on track to what it should be.
If it's going on 1 person, make a chain of succession with some contingency plans. If person 1 doesn't get x-amount done in y-days, person 2 continues where person 1 left off. Maybe make a semi-public master file that only those involved with judging could see/access/alter.
On this thread, that is
Shhh... That's like telling Stalin that the people only love him in public.
