Contest Winner

After a month of poetry, several submissions, and some voting, we have a winner for my very first blog contest!

I know you're all waiting eagerly to see who's the lucky winner of the fantabulous prize, so I won't keep you waiting anymore.

Congratulations:

While Writing Poetry

by Paul Gustav Spohn

Often times by the reading light of sunshine

Through the window blinds

Sitting by my chair

My mother

Long gone

Stares at my shadow of youth

And in the fragile moment

Of death and beyond

I coax out a sigh

That once to her belonged

That she could read what I am

Writing now

In verse

Past tense

Making something of this memory

Some sense

And hoping I am

Within a beacon of her approval

That smile she always

Shared with me

While writing poetry

CONTEST DEADLINE APPROACHES

The Coffee-Stained Poetry Contest (I just thought of that--do you like it?) deadline is tomorrow! If you haven't submitted your poem (or post about poetry), now is the time to do it!

Details about the contest are here.

Crowd Control

by Julie Bloss Kelsey

I can’t babysit them like I used to,
there’s no time to set them down gently.
When I get interrupted, as I so often do,
my poems don’t queue neatly,
like patrons at the post office.

Rather, they are a raucous crowd:
unruly soccer fans, kicking,
clawing, screaming at one another.
They clamor for my attention,
desperate to be noticed.

I hear them strangling now
as these words congeal on the page,
stagnant as a blood clot.
Scabbing over, they will harden;
the leftovers waiting to be picked off,
waiting for their reprieve.

Winding Sheet

by John Pieret

Cast among the ruins
entropy exists
god winds down
and we are left
pirouetting shades
even pale in twilight
passing out and in among
the echoes of our past

Each and each
in turn
in transit
cross the faded sun
until what light fails
time collapses
and the darkness
come

I Know Poetry When I See It

by Jen Rose

I know poetry when I see it.

How it dances and sings and leaps

Across the page

How it shapes the white space

Breathing life into ink marks and wood pulp

Where there was once nothing

I know poetry when I see it

Where only the essence of a truth is compressed

In a line so small, but so full that

You read it over and over again

Just to know it by heart.

You write it down word for word

Letter for letter

Period for period

For wonder of what it felt

To write it.

I know poetry when I see it

Standing on my toes

Straining for a glimpse over

The shoulders of giants

Feeling small and speechless

In their presence

Sometimes

I feel the surge of words

Begging to be let out.

I hear them whispering in the notes of a song

Or the voice of a friend

Or a sudden epiphany

I doubt their worth and wonder if they matter,

And if they could mean anything

To anyone

But me.

But I write them

(or at least I try to)

Desiring to honor in the smallest way

The poetry I’ve seen.

Like a little girl

In her mother’s high heels

Five sizes too large.

Untitled

by Chris Rhetts

When I was young
my sister returned for me to God
the power of decision.

Now I chant, but softly,
and spin the little prayer wheel
she left to me.

Sir, I,
am as a water spider,
held to life by surface tension,
minion of conceit, and fashionable pretension,
trading only in the narrows
in jellied words and common urges.
A water spider,
which the least of rain submerges.

CONTEST VOTING

Voting on the contest begins today (I know it was supposed to start tomorrow, but this is my contest and I say it starts today. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?), and is open to all readers. Simply select your favorite of the contest entries, then vote by commenting on that poem with the word "VOTE" (feel free to add other comments, of course). You may only vote once. The poem with the most votes wins.

In the event of a tie, I'll make the final decision based on whatever criteria I find appropriate at the time (alliteration, imagery, meter, moon phase, etc.).

The winner of the contest will be announced here on the blog on May 2nd (and via e-mail to the winner).

For ease of voting, here are the entries (in the order they appeared on the blog):

Untitled by Chris Rhetts
I Know Poetry When I See It by Jen Rose
Winding Sheet by John Pieret
Crowd Control by Julie Bloss Kelsey
While Writing Poetry by Paul Gustav Spohn

Good luck, poets!

[Note: This post was pre-dated in order to keep it from appearing at the top of the blog. It was written on April 24, 2010.]

The fine print....

In honor of National Poetry month this April, I'm holding my first contest!  Here's how it works:

Send a submission of one of the following:

• an original poem
• a post (no more than 750 words) about writing poetry
• a post (no more than 750 words) about reading/enjoying poetry
• a post (no more than 750 words) about how poetry has changed your life

You may only send one entry no later than April 20th by sending it in the body of an email to me at coffeestainedblog (at) gmail (dot) com.  The subject line of the email should say BLOG SUBMISSION in it somewhere.  I will send a confirmation that the entry was received within 24 hours.  Submissions will be posted on the blog throughout April in the order in which they're received, exactly as formatted in the email.

You may comment on submissions as they appear, but voting will not begin until April 25th.  During the last six days of April, you may vote on your favorite submission (one vote per person, of course) by adding the comment "VOTE" to your choice.  If you vote more than once, I will count your first vote.  If you want to change your vote, you can email me with the subject line VOTE CHANGE.  In the email, give me the title of the post you're voting for.

I will tally the votes on May 1st, and announce the winner on the blog on May 2nd.  (The winner will also be notified via email.)

Now here's the part you're really waiting for: the fantabulous prize!

The winner of this spectacular poetic contest will receive this:

A set of three moleskine journals (5x8) with lined pages.

Perfect for continuing your poetic adventures beyond National Poetry Month.

You may begin sending submissions today, and the first submission will be posted on April 2nd (assuming it's received by then).  There will be only one submission posted per day, and I will add a sidebar with a running list of entries, and links to the posts.

Good luck, and happy scribbling!

AROHO's Orlando Prizes and eMessage Competition

Any woman who writes short fiction, sudden fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry are eligible for upcoming the Orlando Prizes and eMessage Competition from A Room of Her Own Foundation (AROHO).


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