Poetry competition CLOSED 1st March 2020 2:06pm
WINNER
Josh (Joshua Bond)
Josh (Joshua Bond)
RUNNERS-UP:
wallyroo92
and PoetsRevenge
Alone In The Woods
Greetings, honored entrants. You have roughly 24 hours to DOUBLE-CHECK your entries for spelling and/or grammatical errors ( perhaps inadvertently omitted words ), etc.
Thank you each for your tributes to #StevieSmith, and best of luck in the judging.
Thank you each for your tributes to #StevieSmith, and best of luck in the judging.
Anonymous
You can now add the theme #StevieSmith to your entries courtesy of the Webmiss!
We are finishing up with the judging process and will be announcing winners soon!
We are finishing up with the judging process and will be announcing winners soon!
Thank you for your entries honoring #StevieSmith. Judging these competitions are never easy, thusly we call in a third ( and sometimes fourth judge ) to verify our findings, or provide insight we may have missed. This competition was particularly difficult because sometimes it all comes down to a simple misspelling, or inadvertent omission of a word, which costs you dearly when you’re up against someone who has double and triple-checked their entries for errors.
That being said, the awards are as follows:
1. Josh—Dancing Queen: As previously stated on your page, Smith's poem was two-fold; the innocence of youth recognizing what's important ( as well as desiring freedom ); and, the wisdom of age recognizing what enables such important freedom, which is balance. In yours, the queen has attempted to achieve such balance both separately and together. From those three attempts she opts for the fourth, which is freedom of expression; or, should I say from constriction. It's a very subtle take on the essence conveyed in a unique perspective and totally original delivery. She urges, in typical monarch wisdom, that the princess follow suit, thus serving her country as a shadow so that the sun can appear brighter. You imaginatively captured the message of contrast in Smith's poem. Hers emphasizes a need for a balance between individuality and duty to the mass's - yours insists upon breaking from tradition to discover individuality.
Congratulations on your win.
2. PoetsRevenge—Pretty ( A Nice Dream ):
When we first read this, it was apparent it was based on Smith’s poem; therefore, we initially thought that it would be an extension of the inspirational poem rather than emulation of essence, being both lean heavily on the word pretty in describing everything, even that which could on a personal level be considered ugly. Yet, the repetition throughout the poem, it really worked to strengthen your interpretation. It was a very brave move that proved successful.
Congratulations on placing second.
3. Wally—Free Spirit: This was a very emotional poem so indicative of Smith, Wally. There are some very nice nods to the inspirational poem while retaining originality. The emotional impact alone was both powerful and unexpected, as many of Smith's poems.
Congratulations for placing third.
Honorable Mention: Snugglebuck—Do Not Resuscitate
It's as if you were striving for the opposite of Smith's poem that inspired it. She warns everyone to stay away from falling in love and you warn everyone away from reviving you from your love coma. The essence of one is to avoid love ( after the fact, of course ); the other is to avoid life ( after the fact, of course ). There's humor, short lines, and a message about Love requiring an all or nothing attitude - less than 100% is unacceptable.
Most Improved: slipalong—Mixed signals
Slip, your progress as a poet is remarkable to witness. You not only take each honest critique to heart, but you implement suggestions to improve your work. You are truly a focused writer that puts the written word above pride and ego. That is the mark of a truly great writer that you are evolving into. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to be witness to that process. We are so proud of you!
Thank you all for entering the CCC, you don’t make this easy for us. Please join us in this month’s competitions:
Carol Ann Duffy: https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/11291/
Yehuda Amichai: https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/11292/
If you have not yet added the theme #StevieSmith to your entry, please do so.
That being said, the awards are as follows:
1. Josh—Dancing Queen: As previously stated on your page, Smith's poem was two-fold; the innocence of youth recognizing what's important ( as well as desiring freedom ); and, the wisdom of age recognizing what enables such important freedom, which is balance. In yours, the queen has attempted to achieve such balance both separately and together. From those three attempts she opts for the fourth, which is freedom of expression; or, should I say from constriction. It's a very subtle take on the essence conveyed in a unique perspective and totally original delivery. She urges, in typical monarch wisdom, that the princess follow suit, thus serving her country as a shadow so that the sun can appear brighter. You imaginatively captured the message of contrast in Smith's poem. Hers emphasizes a need for a balance between individuality and duty to the mass's - yours insists upon breaking from tradition to discover individuality.
Congratulations on your win.
2. PoetsRevenge—Pretty ( A Nice Dream ):
When we first read this, it was apparent it was based on Smith’s poem; therefore, we initially thought that it would be an extension of the inspirational poem rather than emulation of essence, being both lean heavily on the word pretty in describing everything, even that which could on a personal level be considered ugly. Yet, the repetition throughout the poem, it really worked to strengthen your interpretation. It was a very brave move that proved successful.
Congratulations on placing second.
3. Wally—Free Spirit: This was a very emotional poem so indicative of Smith, Wally. There are some very nice nods to the inspirational poem while retaining originality. The emotional impact alone was both powerful and unexpected, as many of Smith's poems.
Congratulations for placing third.
Honorable Mention: Snugglebuck—Do Not Resuscitate
It's as if you were striving for the opposite of Smith's poem that inspired it. She warns everyone to stay away from falling in love and you warn everyone away from reviving you from your love coma. The essence of one is to avoid love ( after the fact, of course ); the other is to avoid life ( after the fact, of course ). There's humor, short lines, and a message about Love requiring an all or nothing attitude - less than 100% is unacceptable.
Most Improved: slipalong—Mixed signals
Slip, your progress as a poet is remarkable to witness. You not only take each honest critique to heart, but you implement suggestions to improve your work. You are truly a focused writer that puts the written word above pride and ego. That is the mark of a truly great writer that you are evolving into. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to be witness to that process. We are so proud of you!
Thank you all for entering the CCC, you don’t make this easy for us. Please join us in this month’s competitions:
Carol Ann Duffy: https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/11291/
Yehuda Amichai: https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/11292/
If you have not yet added the theme #StevieSmith to your entry, please do so.
Anonymous
Congrats, Josh! And PoetRevenge! And wallyroo92 too!
As well as everyone else who participated, because you rewarded yourself with fresh poetries!
As well as everyone else who participated, because you rewarded yourself with fresh poetries!
Congrats, Josh, your entry was a royal success, you captured the spirit of the insightful british poet and her unique perspective. Congrats also to Wally, Snugglebuck and Slipalong for the runners up placements, I'm honored to be among such talent. Stevie Smith was not easy to emulate but I learned new things by participating and reading everyone else's entries.
Thanks to Ahavati and Johnny for hosting and highlighting us, it's much appreciated 😀
Thanks to Ahavati and Johnny for hosting and highlighting us, it's much appreciated 😀
Congratulations to Wallyroo & PoetsRevenge - and as always all entrants who enrich new possibilities and spark ideas in one's own writing. Thank you again to J&A for considered assessment of the poems (no easy task, and one requiring considerable insght to poetry in general). CCC makes a vital contribution to DUP & the world of poetry.
Anonymous
Josh said:Congratulations to Wallyroo & PoetsRevenge - and as always all entrants who enrich new possibilities and spark ideas in one's own writing. Thank you again to J&A for considered assessment of the poems (no easy task, and one requiring considerable insght to poetry in general). CCC makes a vital contribution to DUP & the world of poetry.
You honor us with your words of appreciation, Josh.
You honor us with your words of appreciation, Josh.
PoetsRevenge, congratulations on runner up and Joshua for taking the cup. It's always a pleasure to be named along the likes of wonderful poets. My sincere thanks to Ms. Ahavati for opening my eyes with Stevie's work. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.
wallyroo92 said:PoetsRevenge, congratulations on runner up and Joshua for taking the cup. It's always a pleasure to be named along the likes of wonderful poets. My sincere thanks to Ms. Ahavati for opening my eyes with Stevie's work. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.
You're welcome Wally, and Josh, and PR!
I couldn't have done it without my partner-in-poetics, JohnnyBlaze! Who is actually my foundational support through these things, particularly the judging!
Oh, and a very special thank you to our respective guest judge this month. We truly appreciated your contributions.
You're welcome Wally, and Josh, and PR!
I couldn't have done it without my partner-in-poetics, JohnnyBlaze! Who is actually my foundational support through these things, particularly the judging!
Oh, and a very special thank you to our respective guest judge this month. We truly appreciated your contributions.
