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At the Mountains of Madness - Concluded - Timothy Hicks's Blog

About Timothy Hicks

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My name is Timothy Hicks, and I've been writing for 5 years now, since I was 13. My main hobbies include writing, playing my piano, origami and bicycling.

I'm a bit OCD about some things and some would refer to me as a nervous pacer. I like to do outdoor activities, but at the same enjoy my alone time where I can sit and write. I'm a very avid reader and enjoy several different genres: horror, science-fiction, fantasy, and mysteries such as Sherlock Holmes.

I've had several different jobs including shakerboarder, pizza-make and cotton candy maker-and-distributor.

I like to think of myself as someone that can fit into almost any crowd and I always try to stay on the bright side of things. I swear very little and hardly ever get mad at people. I believe spreading smiles is a much better practice than sharing negativity...

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At the Mountains of Madness - Concluded

Blog Posted:5/24/2016 3:45:00 PM

What is madness?

Is it love? Is it poetry? The state of society? Risking your life for a thrill? Insomnia? Mythological mania? Or just the old fashioned mental asylum kind.

What is poetry?

Is it rhyme? Is it narrative? Is it abstract like a van Goh painting, or lucid like a mountain lake?

Well according to you, my friends, it all of that and more. I would like to thank you all for participating in my very strange contest prompt. For me it was rather maddening to judge this contest. By the time I finally I got it down to 21 poems, I read them over and over again, trying to get the number smaller ... but after several re-reads, I just couldn't do it.

Truly, this was the toughest contest yet for me to judge.

I bet you're all wondering where in the world I came up with the phrase, "At the Mountains of Madness". Well to tell you the truth it wasn't my idea, but actually a short story title by an obscure author in the 30s, H. P. Lovecraft. He was an odd fellow, who popularized the genre, Weird Fiction, and is actually the inspiration for a lot of modern horror authors, like Stephen King, for instance.

In the particular story it was about a research crew heading to Antarctica. They ended up discovering a long lost civilization beyond their comprehension and needless to say ... descened into madness.

What stuck with me so much about the title was that it was simultaneously literal AND figuritive. They were literally climbing icy mountains on their journey, while also getting closer and closer to completely losing their minds ... I thought it would make for an interesting challenge, and I wasn't disappointed. The amount of directions you guys took this blew me away ... tip-toing between the straightforward and the very abstract.

Only two entries actually caught onto my reference to the story: At the Edge of the Precipice and Eldritch Quest.

Thanks everyone, yet again, for participating! I appreciate your patience with me :)

-Tim

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Karam
Misra

Date: 5/25/2016 12:52:00 AM

And some of the best and most creative horror stories came from the Pan Antholgies. - A must read. (Sun, are you listening?) Thank you for posting the cover of the collection. ~karam~

Karam
Misra

Date: 5/25/2016 12:46:00 AM

I have read most of Lovecraft's weirdness and was impressed by his style and liberal use of archaic words like eldritch, miasma, arcane, phantasmagoria, chimaera, and the like. Your title at once brought up his eponymous short story. At first I thought of writing on a journey through the brain of a Shoggoth, traversing the folds and wrinkles, crossing axions and ganglia and synapses and stuff, but then I thought about being a member of the Miskatonic team, who survives, is found, and stuggles with his deranged mind. And so the narrative. Perhaps Danniken and "Ancient Aliens" could be the next theme. ~karam~

Timothy Hicks
Date: 5/25/2016 1:17:00 AM

He did use a lot of archaic language, with some passages that were actually quite poetic. I think the wordiness could also have something to do with the era he wrote it ... A lot of older literature, I've noticed, tend to drag things out (that or our attention spans have diminished in this modern age ... Lol)

Timothy Hicks
Date: 5/25/2016 1:14:00 AM

A true fan, I see. I've read most of his work, as well, in a collection once. Some stories that stood out to me were The Quest of Iranon, The White Ship, The Color Out of Space, The Outsider, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath ... A lot of memorable ones for sure.

Karam
Misra

Date: 5/25/2016 12:44:00 AM

Firstly, thank you for putting up such a wonderful theme for your contest. And thank you for considering my poem worthy of placement. I was thrilled by the fertile imagination of the winning poems and their novel takes on the theme. Congrats to all of them. .

Timothy Hicks
Date: 5/25/2016 1:06:00 AM

Yes, there was quite of a lot of imagination going on, I must say. Your entry stood out to me as not only being Lovecraftian but one of the few that attempted a narrative.

Sandra
Haight

Date: 5/24/2016 7:21:00 PM

This was a great contest, Timothy. I enjoyed participating and finding a way to address the theme, and I am pleased to get an HM and just be on your list. I read so many fine poems, and I can see how difficult judging was for you. And, congratulations to all your winners! Sandra

Timothy Hicks
Date: 5/25/2016 1:04:00 AM

Loved to read about your experience at Pike's Peak ... Happy you shared it with me :)

Constance
La France

Date: 5/24/2016 7:13:00 PM

Tim, thanks for a great contest and for my honorable mention, I am indeed honored, and congratulations to all your winners, Contance

Constance La France
Date: 5/25/2016 2:46:00 PM

and sometimes I am like a crazy person, looking for the right words to convey my thoughts, I write something, then NO NO that's not it... thus the madness . . .

Constance La France
Date: 5/25/2016 2:44:00 PM

Tim, judging is very hard... in my poem I wanted to convey what we poets go through to write our poems, for me it is re-write and re-write thus the mountains of paper, reference books and dictionarys pile up around me and I hang there at the end of the poem, like hanging on a cliff, waiting for the perfect ending, I find it and leap off... lol, or something like that...

Timothy Hicks
Date: 5/25/2016 1:01:00 AM

Thanks Constance! These contests are a love-hate situation sometimes .. Love to read awesome poetry, but can be difficult when it comes down to judging.

Andrea
Dietrich

Date: 5/24/2016 6:24:00 PM

It's so interesting to be inspired like you were with that contest theme. Thanks, Tim. I appreciated the inspiration. I remember Lovecraft's name from years ago when I was reading lots of short stories particularly Ray Bradbury, who is brilliant. SciFi is very creative!!!

Timothy Hicks
Date: 5/25/2016 12:59:00 AM

He's definitely a unique author, that's for sure! Not sure if I would call it sci-fi or not ... Sort of a category all it's own.

Timothy Hicks
Date: 5/25/2016 12:55:00 AM

Thanks for stopping Lewis, and for your poem on paragliding. That's what I love about these contests ... So much variety.

Lewis
Raynes

Date: 5/24/2016 5:44:00 PM

Fantastic contest concept Tim, you're right, madness is pretty much up to the individual to tame, and the poet to free. Great comp.

Timothy Hicks
Date: 5/25/2016 12:56:00 AM

Thanks for stopping Lewis, and for your poem on paragliding. That's what I love about these contests ... So much variety.

My Past Blog Posts


Glitches Commenting ... anyone else? Date Posted: 4/20/2021 9:15:00 PM
Spoken Word Poetry Date Posted: 3/27/2021 5:20:00 PM
Published My First Book Date Posted: 3/19/2021 11:09:00 AM
Moving (again) ... Hoping to Find Some Calm This Year Date Posted: 7/19/2020 11:01:00 AM
Long Overdue Update! Date Posted: 12/1/2017 11:55:00 PM
Let's All Come Together - A Call To Understanding Date Posted: 11/22/2016 10:50:00 AM
Five Words - Concluded & Judged Date Posted: 6/9/2016 12:24:00 AM
A Poetry Game Date Posted: 6/5/2016 9:47:00 PM
Five Words --- Update Date Posted: 6/5/2016 5:03:00 PM
A Question About Best Poems Date Posted: 5/25/2016 12:49:00 PM
At the Mountains of Madness - Concluded Date Posted: 5/24/2016 3:45:00 PM
At the Mountains of Madness - Update Date Posted: 5/21/2016 12:31:00 AM
What Do Friends and Family Think? Date Posted: 5/12/2016 2:27:00 PM
Home Sweet Home Date Posted: 4/30/2016 11:03:00 PM
Glitches Date Posted: 4/27/2016 12:03:00 PM
Contest Suggestions ... Date Posted: 4/16/2016 10:48:00 AM
Getting Closer to Crunch Time Date Posted: 4/13/2016 4:05:00 PM
From Constipated Pelicans To Lavender Recessions Date Posted: 4/7/2016 2:29:00 AM
Thirteen Syllables - Concluded Date Posted: 3/31/2016 3:41:00 AM
Ghazal - Concluded Date Posted: 3/27/2016 12:30:00 AM
March of the Footle - Concluded Date Posted: 3/10/2016 8:32:00 PM
Update on Footle Contest Date Posted: 3/2/2016 7:02:00 PM
First Contest, and First Blog Date Posted: 2/29/2016 8:51:00 PM

My Recent Poems

Date Posted	PoemTitle	Form	Categories
4/25/2021	Pocketful of Hardened Suns	Free verse	appreciation,beach,beauty
4/17/2021	One More Rosey Trip	Narrative	child,childhood,cute love
4/14/2021	The Earth As It Is	Free verse	animal,appreciation,beaut
4/11/2021	I Am That Iamb	Dramatic Verse	angst,bereavement,christi
4/5/2021	Unequal You, Unequal Me	Dramatic Verse	bereavement,encouraging,e
3/23/2021	I Toss Another Stone	Free verse	allegory,analogy,apprecia
5/17/2020	As Above So Below	Verse	analogy,appreciation,beau
5/12/2020	Lune - Music	Verse	music,
5/12/2020	The True Wonder Bread	Free verse	analogy,angst,childhood,c
5/9/2020	Coccinella Magnifica	Light Verse	adventure,cute,friendship
5/6/2020	The Heavens Trapped	Prose Poetry	beauty,bereavement,humani
5/4/2020	Avian Legos	Imagism	animal,appreciation,beaut
5/2/2020	In the Wild, Far From My Home	Dramatic Verse	absence,change,endurance,
4/29/2020	We Were Fireflies	Prose Poetry	childhood,confusion,deep,
4/26/2020	To the Dandelion In the Concrete	Personification	character,endurance,flowe
4/25/2020	Who Knows If Magic Exists	Prose Poetry	appreciation,beauty,famil
4/24/2020	The Dandelions Beg To Differ	Prose Poetry	anxiety,appreciation,beau
9/3/2016	Never Out of Season - a Short Story	Narrative	august,bereavement,blue,c
8/1/2016	Eclectic Wonders In Seasonal Flowers --- a Collab	Rengay	appreciation,beauty,flowe
6/20/2016	The Holiday Season	Grook	anger,deep,holiday,humani
6/20/2016	From Words - Everything	Grook	analogy,bible,christian,d
6/11/2016	Space Cadet	Grook	analogy,deep,humanity,hum
6/5/2016	Birds In Tuxedos - a Collaboration	Rengay	animal,beauty,change,imag
5/28/2016	January Jest - a Collaboration	Rengay	autumn,beach,change,natur
5/26/2016	Beautiful Callouses	Sonnet	beautiful,beauty,desire,d
5/24/2016	Musical Pantoum	Pantoum	childhood,feelings,growin
5/23/2016	Convictions and Visuals	Grook	analogy,christian,deep,hu
5/18/2016	Cascade Adventures --- Pt 2	Haibun	adventure,beauty,childhoo
5/18/2016	Cascade Adventures --- Pt 1	Haibun	adventure,beauty,childhoo
5/16/2016	Summer Haiku	Haiku	beautiful,beauty,happy,na
5/15/2016	When It Comes To Me	Dramatic Verse	adventure,celebration,cha
5/12/2016	The Man of the House	Triolet	blue,childhood,dad,father
4/27/2016	Ego-Beneficiary	Grook	analogy,deep,philosophy,u
4/14/2016	That Was a Human	Dramatic Monologue	abuse,angst,bereavement,c
4/9/2016	Everyday Is Beautiful	Carpe Diem	appreciation,cheer up,chi
4/9/2016	If It Be Your Wish To Educate	Carpe Diem	beauty,humanity,image,inn
4/7/2016	A Question In the Sky	Verse	adventure,allegory,beauty
4/5/2016	Who Are You --- Not For Contest	Light Verse	addiction,character,cheer
4/4/2016	Angel	Senryu	angel,bible,cheer up,funn
4/3/2016	Element Water	Free verse	allegory,allusion,bible,d
4/2/2016	The Only Thing That Is Foreseeable	Grook	deep,poetry,poets,simple,
3/30/2016	Love Without Hope	Quatrain	allusion,analogy,desire,g
3/28/2016	The Apple Doesn'T Fall Far From the Tree	Free verse	adventure,crazy,cute love
3/28/2016	Is Humanity That Bad	Monoku	anxiety,bereavement,coura
3/27/2016	Hush Now and Go To Sleep	Ghazal	blessing,childhood,courag
3/23/2016	Where Freedom Finds the Fire	Romanticism	allegory,analogy,beauty,d
3/22/2016	Some Words Are Like Mountains	Elegy	anger,angst,betrayal,blue
3/20/2016	The Eye Is Such a Braggart	Dramatic Verse	appreciation,bereavement,
3/20/2016	Bedtime - a Pantoum	Pantoum	brother,child,feelings,ki
3/18/2016	Element Wind	Alliteration	adventure,allusion,bereav
3/16/2016	Two Birds	Monoku	fun,funny,humor,humorous,
3/16/2016	Little Miss Spring	Light Verse	adventure,appreciation,be
3/15/2016	The Modern Age, Oh So Strange	Footle	america,angst,bereavement
3/15/2016	I Have a Love Affair With Parenthesis	Light Verse	addiction,funny,nonsense,
3/15/2016	You Forced My Hand	Pantoum	cheer up,fun,funny,humoro
3/12/2016	That Delicious Something	Romanticism	beauty,desire,emotions,he
3/9/2016	Two Little Sparks	Ode	adventure,character,child
3/8/2016	Amber Questions	Fibonacci	allusion,appreciation,bea
3/7/2016	Element Earth	Verse	analogy,deep,earth,humani
3/6/2016	Black and White	Rhyme	appreciation,color,dream,
3/4/2016	Optimistic Orange	Ode	appreciation,beauty,image
3/4/2016	Operation Contemplation	Grook	allegory,america,analogy,
3/1/2016	Between Beauty and Villainy	Free verse	appreciation,beauty,berea
2/29/2016	In Sain Plight	Light Verse	fun,funny,humor,humorous,
2/29/2016	The Girl At School Drops Her Pencil	Footle	allusion,crush,cute love,
2/29/2016	Concerning Math and How To Say It	Light Verse	america,education,england
2/28/2016	The Stud From the Spud State and the Red Dragon Damsel	Narrative	adventure,beauty,blessing
2/27/2016	Life According To Miss Ooh-La-La	Romanticism	beauty,fantasy,feelings,f
2/26/2016	In Performance --- Haiku	Haiku	appreciation,beautiful,be
2/25/2016	Party Foul	Limerick	fun,funny,giggle,humor,hu
2/24/2016	Here's An Idea	Light Verse	anxiety,bereavement,forgi
2/24/2016	Sitting Awkwardly So They Don'T See the Evidence	Footle	cheer up,fun,funny,giggle
2/23/2016	Dragonfly --- Haiku	Haiku	appreciation,beautiful,be
2/23/2016	Coastal Sunset --- Haiku	Haiku	beach,devotion,image,imag
2/22/2016	Georgia On My Mind	Free verse	adventure,anxiety,beautif
2/22/2016	Hexagonal Hysteria	Monoku	anxiety,beauty,color,conf
2/21/2016	You Are Nothing --- As Am I	Verse	anger,angst,feelings,how
2/19/2016	What It's Worth	Free verse	allusion,bereavement,deep
2/18/2016	Not a Poem Please Read	I do not know?	angst,anxiety,appreciatio
2/18/2016	My Friend, the Walking Contradiction	Light Verse	appreciation,dedication,e
2/17/2016	Dreams In the Dark, Will They Spark	Than-Bauk	anxiety,art,conflict,drea
2/17/2016	River of Dreams	Free verse	appreciation,beautiful,bl
2/17/2016	Monoku 1	Monoku	death,devotion,family,far
2/16/2016	Norse God In Human Disguise	Footle	fantasy,funny,humor,humor
2/15/2016	A Tomb of Ancient Bloom	Romanticism	appreciation,beauty,devot
2/15/2016	In a Perfect World	Grook	humanity,imagination,intr
2/14/2016	When the World Grew Wings - Full	Rhyme	allegory,allusion,beautif
2/14/2016	When the World Grew Wings - Part 1	Rhyme	allegory,beautiful,bible,
2/13/2016	For Eileen	Rhyme	appreciation,cheer up,ded
2/13/2016	In Regards To the Universe	Grook	appreciation,bible,blessi
2/12/2016	Mariana's Trench	Haiku	appreciation,beautiful,be
2/11/2016	Cornelius Writes a Poem	Light Verse	french,funny,humorous,int
2/10/2016	The Opposite May Be True	Grook	anti bullying,christian,d
2/8/2016	Thin Ice	Lyric	beautiful,feelings,love,y
2/7/2016	Circle of Life	Shape	baby,blessing,child,child
2/7/2016	It Is Not Only the Candle Wick That Burns	Shape	appreciation,change,image
1/4/2015	Gaining Perspective	Sijo	encouraging,introspection
1/4/2015	Tangible	Rhyme	nostalgia,philosophy,toda
1/4/2015	Blood of Your Passion	Prose Poetry	allegory,america,angst,to
12/14/2014	The Lion Within	Ghazal	anxiety,emotions,fear,fee

My Photos

Fav Poems

PoemTitle	Form	Categories
Imagine Depression	Rhyme	depression,on writing and
Gone With the Wind	Rhyme Royal	adventure,confusion,fear,
Black For a Reason	Rhyme	holiday,social,
A Stranger After Dark	Rhyme	christian,christmas,faith
Cocaine Is Her Name	Free verse	addiction,
I Will Rage Against the Dying of the Light	Couplet	death,life,life,death,dea
Sometimes In Relationships	Ghazal	introspection,love,relati
The Best Poem Ever	Epic	death,words,heart,heart,
Spill It	Free verse	art,confusion,courage,ins
Story Teller	Free verse	fantasy,wisdom,
This Is Poetry	Rhyme	write,writing,life,writin
Those Who Follow Me	I do not know?	on writing and words,phil
Color Me	Free verse	philosophy,god,me,people,
The Storm Watcher	Free verse	emotions,storm,
Somewhat Twisted Thoughts of the Day	Light Verse	funny,life,
Mixing of the Bones	Free verse	introspection,life,togeth
It Is a Sin	Prose Poetry	inspirational,life,pain,p
Have You Looked Up At the Sky Today	Couplet	beautiful,life,uplifting,
Timothy's Bridge	I do not know?	friend,
Two Worlds of Imagination	Terzanelle	children,life,
You Say I Say	Quatrain	friendship,
Crystal Clear	Prose Poetry	family,love,
My Chance	Prose Poetry	dream,
The Last Poem	Free verse	life,people,me,
Lost	Senryu	confusion,
Children of a Lesser God	Free verse	god,uplifting,
1 Cherry Blossom Haiku	Haiku	april,children,spring,
Quieter Voice	Terzanelle	voice,
How To Slow Down Time	Free verse	analogy,imagination,time,
The Quill Masters	Free verse	fun,poets,
Rain and Rain and More Rain	Free verse	nature,
On My Porch	Prose Poetry	life,nature,
The Elephant In the Room	Free verse	funny,humorous,life,metap
Amazing	Prose Poetry	writing,
The Young Gardener	Verse	beauty,bird,daughter,gard
Why I Want To Go To Heaven	Prose	heaven,
Responding To Pain	Rhyme	christian,inspiration,pai
Self Less	Couplet	introspection,
He Was My Sun	Pantoum	war,
Please Lord	Rhyme	god,grief,poetry,
What Annoys Me	Couplet	betrayal,
The Gift To God, I Gave To Give -	Ode	devotion,
God's Kind of Poetry	Free verse	faith,god,perspective,uni
What Are We	Free verse	life,love,people,
How To Die	Free verse	age,death,dream,
Not Today, Not Anymore -	Epic	business,work,me,work,hig
Innovation	Acrostic	change,light,
Poetry Pillar	Ode	beauty,creation,desire,lo
My Real Name	Free verse	life,
Quote Inspired By Justin	Free verse	beautiful,devotion,emotio
Time Lost Eyes	Blitz	imagination,
Haiku 69-About the Swan Lake	Haiku	bird,blue,
Take Me To Church	Monoku	bird,
Lotus Bloom	Free verse	allegory,beauty,dark,
Of Stargazers and Starshooters	Narrative	analogy,appreciation,poet
Wisdom Is	Monoku	men,wisdom,universe,
Love Is Free	Senryu	freedom,love,
Around the Campfire	Quatrain	adventure,beautiful,color
Butterflies of Saturn	Couplet	beauty,butterfly,fantasy,
Today I Wrote Poetry	Prose	happiness,society,solitud
The Celestial Pillow	Monoku	blessing,death,life,
The Big Question For Those of Little Faith	Free verse	life,
Butterfly Alphabet	ABC	birth,butterfly,creation,
Wimpy Kid With a Big Imagination	Free verse	deep,children,hope,meanin
My Poetry Garden	Narrative	garden,
Hearts and Solitaire	Verse	angst,humanity,loneliness
December	Acrostic	beauty,blessing,growing u
Little Fire	Dramatic Monologue	courage,death,fire,growth
On Coming Home	Free verse	space,
John F Kennedy - Martin Luther King Jr - Robert F Kennedy and Donald Duck	Free verse	philosophy,
Ode To Earth	Free verse	beauty,earth,nature,
Little Glistening Salmon	Free verse	adventure,appreciation,be
Insipid Nights	Tanka	feelings,people,
Gathering Wool	Free verse	lost love,
I'M Sorry My Love-An Almost Sonnet of My Deepest Admiration	Rhyme	goodbye,humor,silly,
Instant Telegram	Haiku	adventure,art,beauty,happ
In a Field of Gold	Quintain (English)	lost love,nature,
For the Beautiful Mystic Rose	Ode	beauty,dedication,deep,fo
Overtones	Free verse	art,beauty,blessing,dedic
King of Silence	Prose	allegory,evil,humanity,po
Summer Splendour	Haiku	imagery,
Jesus Was Turkish	Free verse	age,animal,bible,inspirat
At the Mountains of Madness	Free verse	lost love,
Impending Sense of Nap	Couplet	sleep,
Spring Rain	Haiku	nature,
Boats of Shame	Blitz	abuse,baptism,courage,sla
Along the Shady Paths of Vivid Green	Narrative	sad,
Boy Oh Boy and a Girl	Rhyme	adventure,boy,childhood,c
Wild About Books	Verse	books,sad,
The Sham of My Humanity	Free verse	anger,grief,heartbreak,hu
Subtraction Man	Quatrain	farewell,humor,symbolism,
Swirling Leaves Haiku	Haiku	nature,
Complex	Verse	abuse,community,sound,
Normally My Mind's a Meadow	Narrative	crazy,mental illness,
Things Change	Narrative	age,best friend,boy,chang

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Dinda Minardi	Indonesia	Read
Maurice Rigoler	United States	Read
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Eileen Manassian	_Not Listed	Read
Richard Lamoureux	Canada	Read
Poet Tacito	United States	Read
Justin Bordner	United States	Read
Suzanne Delaney	United States	Read
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