Poetry competition CLOSED 10th May 2015 3:49pm
WINNER
MadameLavender
MadameLavender
72 Hours
Okay, thank you for your patience with me finalising this comp, but I've been extremely busy... I was also inspired by the recent Eurovision song contest voting system and so, basically I invited all the DU poetry world to help judge this competition.
I must say, watching the outcome of the judging results unfold was much like watching the Eurovision voting results being announced via satellite, it was painstakingly intriguing and entertaining at the same time. However, unlike the Eurovision grand final results, every single poem in this poetry comp received at least one vote from one of the judges for either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, which made for a rather tight outcome.
But before I announce the winners, I'd like to thank the 15 judges who took part, the two judges who disappeared off the face of the Earth and the two judges who preferred not to judge others. So thank you to all the gorgeous and borderline Euro-style sophisticated DU judges, Ghoulie, Earth_Child, Dive_Strategy, lepperochan, Indie, whale, stuckinahardplace, The_Enigma, diddi, Crazy_Admirer, LobodeSanPedro, snuggle buck, Missy DeMeanour, Magdalena and caxton.
No more drivel from me, now here are the results...
1st Place: MadameLavender - “A Diaspora Of Time” [18.6% of the vote]
2nd Place: Atakti - “Empty Hands” [15.9% of the vote]
3rd Place: uma (summultima) - “no more fictitious, these hard-line Basilistans" [15.5% of the vote]
4th Place: kateA (seekingkate) - “you can do something” [13.6% of the vote]
5th Place: Le Fay (Mourganna) - “Of Skin and Blood” [7.3% of the vote]
6th Place: kriticool - “Life or Death Penalties" [6.9% of the vote]
Congratulations to the winner Madame L, the runners up Atakti, uma, kate, Le Fay and kriticool, and a big thank you to everyone who took part in this rather political and challenging poetry comp.
Here are just some random comments from the judges.
"1. Empty Hands by Ataki. I felt like that piece reached back in time as well as forward to make the whole thing resonate.
2. A Diaspora of Time by MadameLavender. This was my favorite. BUT obvious references to songs/characters/artists/etc are a pet peeve of mine. other than that last stanza, i was hooked into the entire thing the entire time.
3. You Can Do Something by KateA. the first stanza had me wanting to read what this person was going to tell me."
"Not easily judged unlike the condemned
1. BoFantastic
2. Uma
3. NaturallySpoken
With notable mentions for KateA and Snagz
They all tried to get under the skin not just stare through the bars"
"well i slept like the dead today and in between...
1. ataki
2. madame lavender
3. kate
...i actually read, so there ya go, mister."
"This was a thought provoking competition that pulls taunt the strings of human emotions.
I thought the best two poems were Uma’s no more fictitious, these hard-line Basilistans and Paean of Deviance’s Caged Rage Abroad.
Though Uma’s work was profound I thought it a bit too metaphoric. Making her work appealing to other poets, but to challenging for the everyday reader. But take my opinion as a grain of salt, for I am critical of most contemporary poets for preaching to the choir, instead of appealing to the masses.
Which is why I prefer Paen’s work Caged Rage Around more. Reading his work I identified with the raw emotions it conveyed, and the desperate hope as if I were thinking the same thoughts/
My third pic, is Naturally_SpokeN’s untitled work. Her fist few verses captures the agony of having to spend a decade lingering on death row, then in maturity having to pay with their lives pay for one mistake committed in youth. If her only she had tried to finish her poem, with the rhythmic meter she started it with, she may have been my first pic.
So here’s how I rate them.
Winner: Paean of Deviance’s Caged Rage Abroad.
Runners up: Uma for no more fictitious, these hard-line Basilistans and Naturally SpokeN for her untitled work."
"Have to say, Uma's fantastic poem, words spoken with a fine flair. very thoughtful. nice voice . nice little inner rhymes now n again, bit of a rebel in there. paced nice. good stuff. ah yes, and the title, very clever
second and third, Kritikool and the Doc were for their perspectives as much as for their telling of the tale. an innate honestly."
"That is definitely an overload..."
"Okay my choices ...
1. of skin and blood - Le Fay. I remember reading this before she posted it for the competition ... I like it because it's a crisp departure from the others that fall into too many cliches. It speaks of sacrifice and resurrection without being ultra religious ... It offers great visual contrasts as well skin and blood vs. snow (warmth of life snuffed out by cold hard steel) ...
2. Empty Hands - Atakti . This resonated for you because again it didn't fall into the cliches of begging for forgiveness ... "A few hundred phone calls reduced my life measurements to eight by six foot long in white brickwork. Lights on, off, bells and clangs chop and slice our time." - Brilliant.
3. Diaspora of Time - Madame Lavender. This stanza sold me on this one ...
No hood, thank you
I prefer to watch the bullet exit
the barrel, and countdown the nanoseconds
as it slices through air and time, rippling
in a spray of red confetti and fireworks behind
my eyes"
"I just saw this email. I read the comp. I'd give uma third because I loved her lyrical prose, it's beautiful. Kriticool second because he had great flow and it wasn't forced like many people. And Madame first because God damn."
"I'm going to be blunt here, XXXXX...but I just want to fuck you...now"
"Okay, here are my three picks. I chose them for their rawness, not a lot of over thought in these pieces, powerful in their briefness. Hope that's helpful
1. Simon_III_Msibi
2. hardallover
3. lanooz"
"HI My name is.Monica ,
nice to meet you please
contact me here i have something to Share....
monicamohammadi@hotmail.com)
with you or you can give me your
mail to contact you please"
I must say, watching the outcome of the judging results unfold was much like watching the Eurovision voting results being announced via satellite, it was painstakingly intriguing and entertaining at the same time. However, unlike the Eurovision grand final results, every single poem in this poetry comp received at least one vote from one of the judges for either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place, which made for a rather tight outcome.
But before I announce the winners, I'd like to thank the 15 judges who took part, the two judges who disappeared off the face of the Earth and the two judges who preferred not to judge others. So thank you to all the gorgeous and borderline Euro-style sophisticated DU judges, Ghoulie, Earth_Child, Dive_Strategy, lepperochan, Indie, whale, stuckinahardplace, The_Enigma, diddi, Crazy_Admirer, LobodeSanPedro, snuggle buck, Missy DeMeanour, Magdalena and caxton.
No more drivel from me, now here are the results...
1st Place: MadameLavender - “A Diaspora Of Time” [18.6% of the vote]
2nd Place: Atakti - “Empty Hands” [15.9% of the vote]
3rd Place: uma (summultima) - “no more fictitious, these hard-line Basilistans" [15.5% of the vote]
4th Place: kateA (seekingkate) - “you can do something” [13.6% of the vote]
5th Place: Le Fay (Mourganna) - “Of Skin and Blood” [7.3% of the vote]
6th Place: kriticool - “Life or Death Penalties" [6.9% of the vote]
Congratulations to the winner Madame L, the runners up Atakti, uma, kate, Le Fay and kriticool, and a big thank you to everyone who took part in this rather political and challenging poetry comp.
Here are just some random comments from the judges.
"1. Empty Hands by Ataki. I felt like that piece reached back in time as well as forward to make the whole thing resonate.
2. A Diaspora of Time by MadameLavender. This was my favorite. BUT obvious references to songs/characters/artists/etc are a pet peeve of mine. other than that last stanza, i was hooked into the entire thing the entire time.
3. You Can Do Something by KateA. the first stanza had me wanting to read what this person was going to tell me."
"Not easily judged unlike the condemned
1. BoFantastic
2. Uma
3. NaturallySpoken
With notable mentions for KateA and Snagz
They all tried to get under the skin not just stare through the bars"
"well i slept like the dead today and in between...
1. ataki
2. madame lavender
3. kate
...i actually read, so there ya go, mister."
"This was a thought provoking competition that pulls taunt the strings of human emotions.
I thought the best two poems were Uma’s no more fictitious, these hard-line Basilistans and Paean of Deviance’s Caged Rage Abroad.
Though Uma’s work was profound I thought it a bit too metaphoric. Making her work appealing to other poets, but to challenging for the everyday reader. But take my opinion as a grain of salt, for I am critical of most contemporary poets for preaching to the choir, instead of appealing to the masses.
Which is why I prefer Paen’s work Caged Rage Around more. Reading his work I identified with the raw emotions it conveyed, and the desperate hope as if I were thinking the same thoughts/
My third pic, is Naturally_SpokeN’s untitled work. Her fist few verses captures the agony of having to spend a decade lingering on death row, then in maturity having to pay with their lives pay for one mistake committed in youth. If her only she had tried to finish her poem, with the rhythmic meter she started it with, she may have been my first pic.
So here’s how I rate them.
Winner: Paean of Deviance’s Caged Rage Abroad.
Runners up: Uma for no more fictitious, these hard-line Basilistans and Naturally SpokeN for her untitled work."
"Have to say, Uma's fantastic poem, words spoken with a fine flair. very thoughtful. nice voice . nice little inner rhymes now n again, bit of a rebel in there. paced nice. good stuff. ah yes, and the title, very clever
second and third, Kritikool and the Doc were for their perspectives as much as for their telling of the tale. an innate honestly."
"That is definitely an overload..."
"Okay my choices ...
1. of skin and blood - Le Fay. I remember reading this before she posted it for the competition ... I like it because it's a crisp departure from the others that fall into too many cliches. It speaks of sacrifice and resurrection without being ultra religious ... It offers great visual contrasts as well skin and blood vs. snow (warmth of life snuffed out by cold hard steel) ...
2. Empty Hands - Atakti . This resonated for you because again it didn't fall into the cliches of begging for forgiveness ... "A few hundred phone calls reduced my life measurements to eight by six foot long in white brickwork. Lights on, off, bells and clangs chop and slice our time." - Brilliant.
3. Diaspora of Time - Madame Lavender. This stanza sold me on this one ...
No hood, thank you
I prefer to watch the bullet exit
the barrel, and countdown the nanoseconds
as it slices through air and time, rippling
in a spray of red confetti and fireworks behind
my eyes"
"I just saw this email. I read the comp. I'd give uma third because I loved her lyrical prose, it's beautiful. Kriticool second because he had great flow and it wasn't forced like many people. And Madame first because God damn."
"I'm going to be blunt here, XXXXX...but I just want to fuck you...now"
"Okay, here are my three picks. I chose them for their rawness, not a lot of over thought in these pieces, powerful in their briefness. Hope that's helpful
1. Simon_III_Msibi
2. hardallover
3. lanooz"
"HI My name is.Monica ,
nice to meet you please
contact me here i have something to Share....
monicamohammadi@hotmail.com)
with you or you can give me your
mail to contact you please"
Anonymous
1. of skin and blood - Le Fay. I remember reading this before she posted it for the competition ... I like it because it's a crisp departure from the others that fall into too many cliches. It speaks of sacrifice and resurrection without being ultra religious ... It offers great visual contrasts as well skin and blood vs. snow (warmth of life snuffed out by cold hard steel) ...
THANK YOU MUCH for mentioning my poem. A great honor to be amongst the mentioned ones!
I totally agree with first choice, Madam L`s poem was fantastic! It stood out amongst the others.
Whoever it was writing the comment regarding my poem, that is amazing.....
My poem was inspired by traditional viking music. First part of the song is about snow and ice...
And even the "sacrifice " part....is totally right
Thank you for such great comments
I almost felt I won a trophy for this
CONGRATS MADAM LAVENDER
and other runners up
THANK YOU ALEXANDER
and judges!
regards
Fay
THANK YOU MUCH for mentioning my poem. A great honor to be amongst the mentioned ones!
I totally agree with first choice, Madam L`s poem was fantastic! It stood out amongst the others.
Whoever it was writing the comment regarding my poem, that is amazing.....
My poem was inspired by traditional viking music. First part of the song is about snow and ice...
And even the "sacrifice " part....is totally right
Thank you for such great comments
I almost felt I won a trophy for this
CONGRATS MADAM LAVENDER
and other runners up
THANK YOU ALEXANDER
and judges!
regards
Fay
Whatta comp. n an effort by host n most adored poet, Alexandre!:)
It seems entering your well thot of comps itself is a grt. learning experience equalling thousand poem feedbacks n a million comps!
Roping in a galaxy of busy seasoned judges, n getting their words on almost each piece..is a tremendous task,
& from an entrant POV, it's a goldmine treasure of inspiration & moulding by honest feedbk words that have a long grt say…
I thank you agn,and our beautiful talented judges with their spirited role.
Congrtaz MadameL & all who entered!
Loved all the pieces in one way or the other, but my most fav ones were Atakti’s, MadameL’s, Kritikool’s & Kate's.
A grand comp. overall, with a purpose & lotta learnings!
Light n luv<3
It seems entering your well thot of comps itself is a grt. learning experience equalling thousand poem feedbacks n a million comps!
Roping in a galaxy of busy seasoned judges, n getting their words on almost each piece..is a tremendous task,
& from an entrant POV, it's a goldmine treasure of inspiration & moulding by honest feedbk words that have a long grt say…
I thank you agn,and our beautiful talented judges with their spirited role.
Congrtaz MadameL & all who entered!
Loved all the pieces in one way or the other, but my most fav ones were Atakti’s, MadameL’s, Kritikool’s & Kate's.
A grand comp. overall, with a purpose & lotta learnings!
Light n luv<3
Wow! Wasn't expecting this win, but thanks so much, everyone involved--Case, for hosting, everyone else who entered, for giving some stiff competition, all the judges, and congrats to everyone. I'll keep that thought in mind, about the obvious references to songs/characters/artists--personally, I wasn't thrilled, either with my last stanza, but also had a mental block as to how to pull it off without sounding like a plagiarist, of which we've had much of that here at times from various characters who need no further mention, so I left it as it was, again, thinking that I could have done better with it but was at a loss as to how to do it.
Keep the comps coming, Case and everyone else--these are the type of comps that make DU a great place to spend your time!
Keep the comps coming, Case and everyone else--these are the type of comps that make DU a great place to spend your time!
