Anyone who has ever read a book by José Saramago must certainly familiar with the magical way reality is mystified to create fascinating situations. The writing itself can often be taken for poetic prose, thanks to the dreamy descriptions and metaphor-filled narratives. Most of his works are based on the subversion of History (Baltasar and Blimunda, The History of the Siege of Lisbon), or the creation of fantastical situations (Blindness, Double, The Stone Raft). Here is an excerpt from Baltasar and Blimunda (translated by Giovanni Pontiero), which is considered by many to be his masterpiece,

There is a southerly wind, a breeze that scarcely ruffles Blimunda's hair, with this wind they will not be going anywhere, it would be like trying to swim across the ocean, so Baltasar asks, Shall I use the bellows, every coin has two sides, first the priest proclaimed, There is only one God, now Baltasar wants to know, Shall I use the bellows, from the sublime to the ridiculous, when God refuses to blow, man has to make an effort. But Padre Bartolomeu Lourenço seems to have been struck dumb, he neither speaks nor moves, simply stares at the vast circumference of the earth, part river and sea, part mountain and plain, If that is not spray he perceives in the distance, it could be the white sails of a ship, unless it is a trail of mist, it could be smoke from some chimney, yet one cannot help feeling that the world has come to an end, and mankind as well, the silence is distressing, the wind has fallen, not a single hair on Blimunda's head is disturbed, Use the bellows, Baltasar, the priest commands.

In the spirit of what was said above, there will be a contest focused on poetry, or poetic prose, about historical subversions or fantastical situations. Details are below.

Theme and Format

• Less than 2000 words in length


• Poetry or poetic prose


• The main theme must be a fantastical situation or an hypothetical historical situation, or a mix of the two at the author's choice.

Other details

• No entry limit


• Deadline is September 15th


• Winners are announced October 1st maximum, with prizes awarded simultaneously


• Entries must be noted to ~ordie until the deadline

Prizes

• 1st prize: 3 months subscription plus a copy of Baltasar and Blimunda (posting and packing included)


• 2nd prize: 3 months subscription


• 3rd prize: 1 month subscription

Judges

• =bewareofthesnowman
• ~ordie
• ~SpokenAubade


Thanks for reading; and now, get writing!