** PLEASE NOTE ** This will be like the previous two Arbitrium Divisa contests, but will be a PREMIUM contest with only TEN placements, (yes, I changed my mind about never doing premium contests again, after much deliberation and extensive discussion with fellow soupers). If your entry is a rhyme of some kind, it must be EXACT rhyme, ("walking" and "hiking" do not rhyme ... "action" and "lotion" do not rhyme), and please do NOT put your name or any identifying marks on your entry ...
What to Submit?
ONE original poem in a form I named "ARBITRIUM DIVISA", which is quite simply a FOUR-line (no more, no less) stanza of Free Verse or Rhyme, your choice, on any topic, taken from a poem of yours ALREADY WRITTEN. It must be a stanza that already exists as such HERE on Poetry Soup, (the words/lines in the same order as the original), that will also stand on its own as a poem, and it does not have to be from a winning poem ...
Please give this stanza a NEW name, and reference the poem it was taken from at the bottom, (along with the date, contest name, and sponsor). If the reference is missing, it will be N/A'd. It can be ANY form, but it must be four lines in their original order. If you'd like to separate them differently, (insert line breaks or compress), you may do so, as long as the words are still in their original sequence.
* Please DO NOT use a poem you entered in one of the previous three contests. *
That's it! Any questions, please Soup Mail me ... my examplea are the links below. Thank you!
Scrumptious - Liberum Divisa
Soften, Spring - Rithimus Divisa
Prizes
First Prize - Most Glory
Second Prize - More Glory
Third Prize - Glory
... and seven more wonderfully glorious placements!
Preparing Your Entry
Format your poem. Please make your entry easy to read ... spelling and grammar will not disqualify, but they WILL affect placement. The four lines of verse MUST be presented as they were in the original, (although if Free Verse, you may rearrange line breaks if you wish, or compress). Fancy fonts are fine. REMINDER: at bottom - name of poem taken from, date, contest name, and sponsor.
English Language
Poems should be in English. Poems translated from other languages are not eligible, unless you wrote both the original poem and the translation. Spelling and grammar won't DQ you, (unless it's atrocious or offensive), but it WILL affect placement, so if English is not your first language, please try to get a friend to proof-read for you. ** I JUDGE BLIND ** so please do not take it personally ... winnowing 35 entries down to just ten means MANY great poems will be cut.
A Note to Poetry Contestants
You are welcome to enter this contest, whether or not you won a prize in one of my previous contests. PLEASE read the directions - most of the N/A's that happen here at PS are when entrants don't take the time to read the directions. Have enough respect for your fellow soupers to do so, or you'll be wasting an entry slot that someone else could have used.
Have fun, My Fellow Soupers - that's what this is all about!
- The Bard