PoetryPlease is Back!

If you hadn't already noticed, PoetryPlease has been on hiatus as some rather drastic changes were taken place amongst our management and staff. Now that the organization is complete, we would like to unveil PoetryPlease with a spectacular new contest of EPIC proportions! Keep reading for all the details on our expectations and unprecedented first place prize.

Contest Details

The goal of this contest is to write a EPYLLION.

An EPYLLION is a "little epic", literally a shorter version of the very long epic poem. An epic poem is a narrative describing the heroic acts of a central character and surrounds a romantic and/or mythological theme. Examples of an epic would be The Iliad by Homer and Paradise Lost by John Milton. An epic traditionally focusses on its oral quality, meaning that it flows when spoken aloud (though not particularly by means of a rigid meter).

There are 6 main characteristics of an epic:

the hero is of imposing stature, of national or international importance, and of great historical or legendary significance
the setting is vast, covering many nations, the worlds or the universe
the action consists of deeds of great valor or requiring superhuman courage
supernatural forces--gods, angels, demons--interest themselves in the action
a style of sustained elevation is used (meaning it is action packed, adventurous, and exciting)
the poet retains a measure of objectivity (meaning the poem is not told from a first-person perspective)

This information and more can be found here: [link]

You are asked to write an EPYLLION of no more than 250 words. The intent of this contest is for you to write as though this EPYLLION is an exerpt or intro to a much larger story. You are not expected to fully incorporate all 6 of the above characteristics into your poem (ie, you may not be able to fit a god or demon into 250 words, or describe the entire setting you've dreamed up), but you must convey the sense that your story is big enough that it could extend further. We do not want a happy ending wrapped up with a pretty bow as this poem should be the beginning or middle of a much bigger picture. Hopefully, in time, after the contest is over, you will expand on the story and continue to develop it on your own.

We are encouraging prose writers and those who tend towards fantasy fiction to take part, but it is important to remember that this is a poetry contest. Poetry is made up of phrases, not always complete sentences. Adding line breaks to a prose piece, does not make it poetry. If you would like more information about what defines a poem or about this particular style of poetry, stop by our chat room and ask one of our editors, laureates, or the authority itself, PoetryPlease.

It is important that your poem NOT be already submitted as a deviation. Any poems submitted as a deviation will be disqualified. To submit your entry for the contest, send a note to PoetryPlease with "Epyllion Contest" in the subject line and the poem itself in the body. If you want your poem to have a title, please include it in your note. DO NOT leave your poem as a comment. Please read our contest rules for more information on eligibility.

We are waiving the members-only rule for this contest only. We are confident that upon participating in the contest and spending some time getting to know our club and its members that you would like to join. If you would like to become a member of PoetryPlease now, click here.

Good Reference Points:

Plot outline and excerpt from The Iliad by Homer: [link]
Excerpt from Paradise Lost by Milton: [link]
The Modern Epic: [link]

Deadline

Due to the vastness of this contest, we are providing participants nearly a month to write a truly unique, quality piece. You have until Sunday, December 2, 2007 to write, so start writing - NOW!

Prizes

First Place:

a critique by GD ^PoeticWar and consideration for a Daily Deviation!
a 1-year subscription or print of equal or lesser value, donated by *PunknEra

Second Place:

a 6-month subscription or print of equal or lesser value, (will be provided by PoetryPlease if no donation is made)

Third Place:

a 3-month subscription or print of equal or lesser value, (will be provided by PoetryPlease if no donation is made)

We are looking for people to donate prizes such as subs, prints, and journal features. Please note PoetryPlease if you'd like to donate. Thank you!