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It is my great pleasure to announce
THE 2014 ABSOLUTE WRITE POETRY REVIEW CONTEST
What It’s About
By no later than Saturday, I'll present a list of links to several poems by a currently active poet. You'll write a review. You can choose one or more, or review all of them as a body of work.
Provide some insight and analysis into the poem(s) you select, on their own or relative to other poems.
The idea is to shed light on the poem(s) and engage the reader. The aim might be to help the reader understand the poems, to learn something about poetry or poetry criticism, or to entertain. It's up to you.
The review can be in any format you like: an essay, article, critique, even a poem. As with any review or crit, how you go about it is completely up to you. Opinions, ratings, technical analysis, interpretation, personal connection to the work - all available to you, but not required.
So, you don't need to know your jargon. The poems are free verse.
I've posted some links to articles on poetry criticism and analysis in the Discussion thread.
The Prizes
Winners will choose in order from the following prize list:
If there are fewer than four entries, then I'll give the leftover prizes to myself.
How It Works
The poem links are posted in the main Poetry forum, here.
There is a separate thread for contest discussion, here.
You'll have four weeks to write your entries. See How to Enter for details.
The entries will be posted, anonymously, in the Chapbook subforum.
There will be a two-week reading period before voting opens.
There will be a two-week voting period.
Winners will be announced as soon as possible after voting closes; I expect that to be two days.
After the winners are announced, I'll post the usernames for each entry.
I will not post the full results. However, if you would like to know how your entry fared, I'll be happy to tell you by PM.
Important Dates
I'll update this section with the actual dates once I've posted the poem links. ALL DATES ARE US EASTERN STANDARD TIME.
The Rules
How to Enter
Using AW's private message (PM) function, send your entries to me (poetinahat) by the date listed below.
Titles are recommended but not required. If your entry does not have a title, it will be given a generic title, e.g. "Entry #4".
How to Vote
After voting is open, send me your vote. Do it before the end date.
Vote for your top three favorites, in order. Votes *must* list three entries to be counted.
In the subject line of your private message, type VOTE: Poetry Review Contest.
In the body of the message, include three votes in order, from first to third. List both the entry number and the title. For example:
6) The Fount of Cosmic Sands [first-place]
2) Entry #2 [second-place]
11) Iamb What Iamb [third-place]
Counting the Votes
First-place votes = 3 points
Second-place votes = 2 points
Third-place votes = 1 point
The entry with the most points wins. Top four entries win prizes.
REMEMBER: Votes must list three entries, as shown, to count.
Any questions?
Post them in this thread, or PM me. I may post your question, along with the answer and a thank-you, in this thread.
And with that, I formally wish you a fun, rewarding contest. Thank you!
THE 2014 ABSOLUTE WRITE POETRY REVIEW CONTEST
What It’s About
By no later than Saturday, I'll present a list of links to several poems by a currently active poet. You'll write a review. You can choose one or more, or review all of them as a body of work.
Provide some insight and analysis into the poem(s) you select, on their own or relative to other poems.
The idea is to shed light on the poem(s) and engage the reader. The aim might be to help the reader understand the poems, to learn something about poetry or poetry criticism, or to entertain. It's up to you.
The review can be in any format you like: an essay, article, critique, even a poem. As with any review or crit, how you go about it is completely up to you. Opinions, ratings, technical analysis, interpretation, personal connection to the work - all available to you, but not required.
So, you don't need to know your jargon. The poems are free verse.
I've posted some links to articles on poetry criticism and analysis in the Discussion thread.
The Prizes
Winners will choose in order from the following prize list:
- The Ode Less Traveled, by Stephen Fry
- The Lords. The New Creatures - the original published poetry of Jim Morrison (secondhand; directly from me to you)
- A Poet's Glossary, by Edward Hirsch
- Trout Fishing in America, by Richard Brautigan
If there are fewer than four entries, then I'll give the leftover prizes to myself.
How It Works
The poem links are posted in the main Poetry forum, here.
There is a separate thread for contest discussion, here.
You'll have four weeks to write your entries. See How to Enter for details.
The entries will be posted, anonymously, in the Chapbook subforum.
There will be a two-week reading period before voting opens.
There will be a two-week voting period.
Winners will be announced as soon as possible after voting closes; I expect that to be two days.
After the winners are announced, I'll post the usernames for each entry.
I will not post the full results. However, if you would like to know how your entry fared, I'll be happy to tell you by PM.
Important Dates
I'll update this section with the actual dates once I've posted the poem links. ALL DATES ARE US EASTERN STANDARD TIME.
- Poems Posted - September 19, 2014
- Entries Close - midnight, October 17, 2014
- Voting Opens -
November 1, 2014NOW
- Voting Closes - midnight, November 14, 2014
- Results Announced - ETA November 16, 2014
The Rules
- Entrants and voters must be members of AW in good standing as of September 18, 2014, and remain so during the contest.
- Limit one entry per member.
- Recommended maximum five hundred words per entry. Minimum one word. The maximum is only a recommendation; write as many as you want, as long as it fits in an AW post. Just a suggestion: think about how long the reader/voter will want to read.
- Entrants *must* vote to be eligible for prizes.
- Yes, you can vote for your own entry.
- Entries will be posted exactly as submitted – except that they will all be posted in the same font. No graphic images will be permitted. I will not proofread, edit, or reformat the entries.
- Limit one three-line vote per AW member (see How to Vote).
How to Enter
Using AW's private message (PM) function, send your entries to me (poetinahat) by the date listed below.
Titles are recommended but not required. If your entry does not have a title, it will be given a generic title, e.g. "Entry #4".
How to Vote
After voting is open, send me your vote. Do it before the end date.
Vote for your top three favorites, in order. Votes *must* list three entries to be counted.
In the subject line of your private message, type VOTE: Poetry Review Contest.
In the body of the message, include three votes in order, from first to third. List both the entry number and the title. For example:
6) The Fount of Cosmic Sands [first-place]
2) Entry #2 [second-place]
11) Iamb What Iamb [third-place]
Counting the Votes
First-place votes = 3 points
Second-place votes = 2 points
Third-place votes = 1 point
The entry with the most points wins. Top four entries win prizes.
REMEMBER: Votes must list three entries, as shown, to count.
Any questions?
Post them in this thread, or PM me. I may post your question, along with the answer and a thank-you, in this thread.
And with that, I formally wish you a fun, rewarding contest. Thank you!
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