We challenge you to write a poem to a Sonnet in four days.
Inspiration for The River Muse Winter 2013 Writing Challenge comes from the sonnet, After Dark, penned by poet Luke Prater and read by Tommy Blackwolf.
Requirements for Entry:
- Must be Either 1) Subscribed to The River Muse mailing list or 2)Friend on Facebook
- Respectful to fellow poets and The River Muse
- Follow the Guidelines below
Here are the guidelines:
- *Read and listen to the poem.
- *Write your own poem with 35 or fewer lines. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A SONNET.
- *Use Times New Roman or Courier New font, size 12.
- *Copy and paste it into the body of an email and send it to contest@theriverjournal.org
- *Subject (Title) should say~ Winter Contest: Your Last Name
- poems must be unpublished (added Saturday to clarify instruction found below)
*Entries will not be considered if they do not follow the requirements and the guidelines.*
**
After Dark
by Luke PraterShe passes him and looks away beyond,
his asking eyes denied, brushed off and lost.
The pavement’s hard and cold, a frozen pond
that fights his shuffling feet through thinning frost.Another passes quick, want swells and dies;
with sighs, a cab is pulled from Tarmac path.
Outside, a smile of suns; within, demise -
They cannot know a thing beneath my laugh.The night is lost in blurring lines of white,
and stuck to sticky faking leather seat,
he ponders on the crawling stream of lights,
hands held to window, stroking on the sheet.The driver’s eyes, a sliver, show the moon;
he takes his fare and winks – I’ll see you soon.
**
VOICE RECORDING:
This is a blind contest! It closes midnight Monday, January 21, 2013. The winner will be announced the following Monday, January 28 through The River Muse’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.
The winner will be highlighted in the next issue of The River Muse, and will receive a free copy of the poetry book, Brush Strokes and Ink Spots: The First Year. In addition, the winner will be the final judge of the Spring poetry contest.
Entries will not be considered if they do not follow the requirements and the guidelines.
Good luck!
**Please do not post your entry until after the winner is announced.**
Is more than entry permitted?
For this particular contest, no. Only one entry per person.
Not to be all “turn it in at the last possible minute” (it drives me bats when students do that!) but is this midnight, Greenwich Time? Pacific? East? Help? Thank you!
EST Tonight
Thanks!
I just submitted my entry. However, just be on the safe side I also sent an attachment because when I copied and past over into my email it did not hold formatting. I went through the copied text in the email and reset each line, but didn’t know whether or not it would hold. I hope this is OK?
Joan
That’s fine, Joan.
I am finished writing. I typed it in Times New Roman, 12 font, but when I copy and paste into my email the type is almost microscopic. If I type it directly in the email with my settings at Times New Roman, 12 font, the type is big. I am not sure which is the correct size. Sigh. I am such a technical ditz.
Great reading, Tommy! Fantastic. Cheers Laurie, River et al. How did the competition go?
Wondering when, where and how to be able to read the winning poem.
The contest went well. There was a variety of interesting takes on your poem. We will be announcing the winner today. Thank you again for letting us use your sonnet for a prompt.
The winning poem will be announced today. The winning poem you will have to come back our next issue to read.