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Some Contest Ideas - Feedback Requested

Blog Posted by Roy Jerden: 3/15/2014 7:05:00 PM

I've been thinking about some ideas for my next contest. I want to describe them
and then hopefully get some input from you, not just which idea you like (or hate),
but perhaps some expansion or variations on the theme, rules or whatever. I have
some ideas already, but don't want to influence your responses.

Idea # 1:
Write me a Dr. Seuss poem.

Idea # 2:
Rickroll me. (imbed some of the words from Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"
in the poem)

Idea # 3:
Write a poem in the style of a different poet, a tribute, not a parody.

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Painted
Hunter

Date: 3/17/2014 11:43:00 AM

Hmm...good ideas...I like the Dr. Seuss idea best.

Nette
Onclaud

Date: 3/16/2014 6:03:00 PM

it's a toss between 2 and 3, roy... for no. 3 , are we saying that if the poet writes in sonnet form, the entry should be a sonnet as well?... i'm brain dead right now, lol... huggs

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/16/2014 7:48:00 PM

Well, I guess the main idea is that the poem ideally looks as if it could have been written by the chosen poet, so it should be a form the poet uses/used a lot, don't you think?

Eileen
Manassian

Date: 3/16/2014 3:44:00 PM

Hi Roy....RICKROLL....I used to LOVE that guy! Even one of his later songs...MOVE ON OUT...is amazing. He has a great voice...I'd go for 2...I love music!

Cyndi
Macmillan

Date: 3/16/2014 3:11:00 PM

I like the idea of writing a tribute!

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/19/2014 8:47:00 PM

Hmmm... I just looked back at that contest and it only got 12 entries...

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/19/2014 8:43:00 PM

I just remembered that the first contest I ever hosted was a tribute to Rudyard Kipling. It was called "A Poem in the Kipling Manner" as I recall...

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/19/2014 8:37:00 PM

Thanks, Cyndi. I didn't realize you added more comments until just now. Good ideas!

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 3/17/2014 10:50:00 PM

For this type of contest, I would think it would be based on both the overall composure of the piece, how well the poem is constructed, all those little nuances, balanced against how well the poem has captured the voice and style of the poem being paid a tribute. ie... someone writing in the fashion of Olgen Nash. Wouldn't be easy to judge...but none are... :)

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 3/17/2014 10:43:00 PM

Judging criteria... you know, I was thinking of writing a blog, sometime, detailing how I judge, what moves me, what I consider stellar poetry... then I'd copy and paste a link to that for every contest I'd host.

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 3/17/2014 10:41:00 PM

Hmmm... well, you could pick five to ten poets, a full range of styles, forms... different eras. Soup has a list of famous poets. You could provide links on your contest page to the poems you choose. I would love some soupers' tributes to HOWL.. can you IMAGINE?!

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/16/2014 7:44:00 PM

Famous poets, dead poets, Poetry Soup poets? Might need permission for the last one... Judging criteria?

Kabuteng P.Ink
K.

Date: 3/16/2014 1:24:00 PM

Hi Roy, idea #2 oh dear me-- this is your fault o_O Now I am going to have Rick Astley rickrolling me in my sleep-- hoo boy, oh my... but those Rickroll thingies are annoying in a funny way, haha. Gee. Oh no, him singing is still there. As for idea#1, I think somebody hosted something along those lines before, inspired by Dr. Seuss, as well as #3-- but it would be interesting what poems you can get from those :)... I do remember hosting a contest somewhat inspired by Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, wherein I took off from the idea of just using a certain # of different words (29 in my contest)- his Green Eggs only used 50 different words....

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/16/2014 7:53:00 PM

Yeah, I kind of remember yours now. What I was hoping to focus on was getting some poems for kids that are fun and easy to read, but that contain a moral lesson, like so many of Dr. Seuss. Of course, we could never duplicate his illustrations, which were so much a part of the fun.

Andrea
Dietrich

Date: 3/16/2014 11:04:00 AM

by the way, parody means to make fun of, right? I don't think poets might enjoy us parodying their style . Maybe I need to review definition of the word. Maybe I don't understand exactly what you mean, but i think it would be fun to write a parody OF a famous poem.

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/16/2014 2:04:00 PM

A good famous poem to parody might be "Song of Hiawatha" by Longfellow. The trochaic tetrameter lends itself well to parody, methinks.

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/16/2014 11:28:00 AM

You are absolutely right, and that was not my intention. I was thinking about more of a tribute to the style of the poet. I don't know the right word for this, but it's not parody. I'm editing the blog to reflect this. Thanks. BTW, it could be fun to do a parody of a famous poet, really more of a caricature than anything else, an exaggeration of their vocabulary, themes and style..

Andrea
Dietrich

Date: 3/16/2014 11:02:00 AM

my favorite is the third one. One is ok, but it's been done here before. Well, parody has been done a few times too, but you have to be more specific what you mean. Parody of a famous poet? could it be parody of a songwriter? they are like poets too and I love to parody songs. Second one you mentioned, not so sure about.

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/16/2014 4:55:00 PM

The idea of a song parody is pretty cool. Kind of a Wierd Al Yankovich contest.

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/16/2014 11:34:00 AM

Google Rickrolling. It's usually a link which takes you to Rick's video on YouTube, but another form imbeds the words in an unrelated text document. It's a kind of prank, really.

Debbie
Guzzi

Date: 3/15/2014 7:26:00 PM

Tell me what you mean by a parody? I really hate contests where our imagination is stifled by the directions, like using someone else's words.

Roy Jerden
Date: 3/15/2014 7:42:00 PM

Well, I was hoping to leave that open for discussion, but by style I didn't mean the vocabulary, unless it can't be separated from the style because it is so much of it. In addition, I wasn't thinking of a parody in a humorous sense, more of a tribute parody, but it's all up for grabs, depending on how the discussion goes. Nothing is set in stone at this point. Suggestions?

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