By Way of Clarification... - Tom Woody's Blog

In the past I've sponsored a handful of contests and entered some as well. I certainly don't feel more qualified than anyone else to judge another's poetry, but in an effort to blend in better, here we are (when in Rome...). Poe in the style of Plath, what exactly does that mean? Edgar Allan Poe was a master poet and storyteller. Sylvia Plath had an abstract, often difficult to decipher style of writing. The contest challenge is to write a story Poe would be proud of but through Plath's muse. Imagery, metaphor and other poetic devices are expected, but in the end the poem/story must still somehow be relatable. There is a great resource right here on Poetry Soup if you would like to familiarize yourself with Poe and Plath. Just select Famous Poets and search. Hope this helps! Tommy

Di11y Da11y Date: 11/20/2023 12:33:00 PM I was quite excited by this contest - I'm not an avid poetry reader but see this a bit like the ekphrasis I've done where I absorb the feelings and then just see what happens... Not sure if I'm in the right ballpark but I did like it and found some beautiful Sylvia Plath poems I'd never read before. Abstract is right up my street because it isn't abstract at all if you can tune into it, it just becomes incredibly beautiful. Login to Reply Tom Woody Date: 11/20/2023 1:07:00 PM We'll look forward to reading your entry

Andrea Dietrich Date: 11/19/2023 7:08:00 PM Sounds like an impossible task. I can't even comprehend Plath. I bet you will get good entries from some of the more abstract writers here. Login to Reply Tom Woody Date: 11/20/2023 7:31:00 AM :)

Suzanne Delaney Date: 11/19/2023 10:02:00 AM Daddy meets forevermore. So much here to explore. I think Ted Hughes was unfaithful to her. Not sure if that was why she killed herself???? Login to Reply Tom Woody Date: 11/19/2023 10:04:00 AM The game is afoot...

John Lawless Date: 11/19/2023 5:52:00 AM So you want me to allow both sides of my brain on the schoolyard at the same time......as me mom would always say...."this isn't going to turn out well"..... Login to Reply Tom Woody Date: 11/19/2023 6:10:00 AM I expect a few train wrecks. The question is: will they entertain?

Charlotte Puddifoot Date: 11/19/2023 3:36:00 AM i'm not a fan of poe at all, but i love plath's poetry..an editor pulled me up on it years ago and said my writing was too much after her style, so i've moved away from it now somewhat and developed my own 'voice', as they say..with plath, there are a lot of very personal references in her late poems which are completely obscure unless you know the details of her life at the time she was writing them; she was also suffering from flu and running high fevers during the writing of many of them, and i think that shows in the writing, giving the poems a surreal, hallucinatory feel.. Login to Reply Tom Woody Date: 11/19/2023 6:10:00 AM I'm not a Plath fan, by any means. But she has her niche and supporters, to be sure

Ink Empress Date: 11/19/2023 12:12:00 AM Hah when in rome yes, ah i was reading some of plaths poems and its very different to my style of writing. I have a hard time mimicking or following another style of writing. Poe i can try as i am a fan of Poe. Hmm lets see: thanks for the explanation. I dont think poe would be proud of my amateur work though. :D This is a very cool idea. Login to Reply Tom Woody Date: 11/19/2023 6:11:00 AM You go Inky

Suzette Richards Date: 11/18/2023 7:43:00 PM The one commonality I found with Poe and Plath is that they were both suicidal, the first (most likely) due to substance abuse, the latter ... Well we know how that ended. I am not a fan of either poet's work, Poe's gothic genre and Plath's confessional poetry, but I will endeavour to weave a tale of intrigue viewed through the lens of squinted reality. Most definitely an interesting challenge, Tom. Login to Reply Tom Woody Date: 11/19/2023 6:11:00 AM Thx Suzette. Let's see how goes