Metaphorical Realism in Suzette Prime - NEW CONTEST REVISED - Suzette Richards's Blog

© Moonwake, image generated by Suzette Richards 24 April 2023

PREMIERE CONTEST

FORM: Suzette Prime

After a discussion with poets whose opinions I highly value, I have eased up on the contest description and requirements. I have also extended the number of lines permitted from 10 to BETWEEN 10 AND 20 LINES.

Please see the UPDATED definition of Suzette Prime and the NEW EXAMPLE poem here on Poetry Soup. The salient points of SUZETTE PRIME:

1. Metaphorical realism is taking the place of the requirement of a philosophical statement for this contest.
2. Each line must add up to a prime number. FOR THIS CONTEST: 2, 3, 5, 7, or 11 syllables PER LINE.
3. The line lengths may vary, or they may all be of uniform length.
4. ALWAYS NO rhyme, metre, capital letters (except ‘I’, and proper nouns), or punctuation.
5. Stanzas are permitted.
6. Don’t centre your poem.

For this contest, choose ONE of the five AI-generated images on the contest page, or the one depicted above, and write a minimum 10-line, maximum 20-line Syllabic Verse poem in Suzette Prime embracing Metaphorical Realism. For the title of your poem caption the visual prompt you have chosen for your poem, for example, Moonwake* (depicted here). See the contest page for the FULL details and provisos & the usual handy tick list is provided for your convenience.

Metaphorical realism is basically describing something in purely metaphorical terms and not factual, and this may include the poetic device of personification. I am excluding the poetic devices of simile and symbolism as these are not considered metaphors.

Please consult the Dictionary here at Poetry Soup if you are unfamiliar with the terms used.

EXAMPLES: A number of my Suzette Prime poems are posted here on Poetry Soup, and the newer ones illustrate the new direction of Metaphorical Realism that I am taking my poems in, notably, Passion, Verismo, The Rocking Chair of Memories, and Moonwake.

Metaphorical realism in poetry is a literary technique that combines the elements of realism and metaphor to create a vivid and relatable image in the reader’s mind. It is a way of describing the world around us in a way that is both realistic and imaginative. Here are some examples of poems that use metaphorical realism:

1. ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’, by T.S. Eliot: This poem is a great example of metaphorical realism. The speaker describes the streets of a city as ‘half-deserted’ and ‘muttering retreats’. This creates a vivid image of a city that is both realistic and imaginative.
2. ‘The Red Wheelbarrow’, by William Carlos Williams: This poem is another great example of metaphorical realism. The speaker describes a red wheelbarrow as ‘glazed with rain / water / beside the white / chickens’. This creates a vivid image of a farm that is both realistic and imaginative.
3. ‘The Waste Land’, by T.S. Eliot: This poem is a great example of metaphorical realism. The speaker describes a ‘dead land’ that is ‘cactus land’ and ‘the dry stone no sound of water’. This creates a vivid image of a desert that is both realistic and imaginative.

The top three winners in this premiere contest will each receive – via e-mail – a PDF copy (4 MB) of my latest book, © Rocking Poetry, by Suzette Richards 2023. ISBN 978-0-7961-2824-9. It is 117 A4 pages, approx 43k words - therefore, it is not a quick read.

As per usual, please use this corresponding BLOG to pose questions relevant to this contest, and NOT via soup mail. If you are off-topic, I reserve the right to remove your comment and block you from further comments.

Happy quills!

Suzette

*moonwake is used to describe how the moon’s reflection on the water seems to follow you as you walk along the shore; where a moonglade is a flash of moonlight reflecting on water.