Contest Details

This contest is open to all members of DeviantArt and is being run with the support of Community Relations. The process is going to be a long one, but the result, we hope, will be a large amount of publishable epic poems. The details of this contest will be continually updated in the PoetryPlease deviation here. You may wish to watch us in order to receive notice of these changes.

According to Poetry Portal, an Epic poem “is a long poem narrating the heroic exploits of an individual in a way central to the beliefs and culture of his society. Typical elements are fabulous adventures, superhuman deeds, polyphonic composition, majestic language and a craftsmanship deploying the full range of literary devices, from lyrical to dramatic…epic poetry is counted among man's noblest creations” [link] Truly, Epic poetry has a great reputation, from The Iliad to Beowulf to The New World.

As stated in our Epyllion Contest info, there are six 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 was found here.}

The goal of this contest is to produce your own Epic poem, with a minimum of 1000 words. This may seem like a lofty goal, but you’ll be happy to know that the contest will be held over the next six months, allowing you plenty of time to write, edit, and polish your Epic. The process will be divided up as two months for initial writing, two months of heavy workshopping, and one month for final revisions. The final due date will be May 31, 2009. Then, the sixth month will be used for judging the entries and releasing the winners.

*PoetryPlease is delivering on last year’s promise to make the Epyllion Contest worth your while. At the same time as we announced our Epyllion winners, we said, ”The purpose of this contest was to create an opening or excerpt to a much larger piece. Please keep working on your piece and turn it into a true epic - this may become important in the future.” So, with this Epic Contest, the bonus for those of you who participated in the Epyllion contest is that you may use that same deviation (expanded of course) for your Epic poem, whereas everyone else needs to submit a new deviation. Cool, huh? You’ve got a head start, so use it well to your advantage!

Your entry, as already stated, will need to be at least 1000 words. Please be reasonable with how far past this limit you go as our judges are going to have a tough enough time as is. Speaking of judging, we will be putting together a fantastic judging panel over the next month and will update you with a complete list at a later date. We’re also putting together an excellent prize list, which has yet to be finalized, but we can assure you that there are some great prizes coming your way from Community Relations, as well as whispers of publication in a popular magazine.

Not incentive enough? That’s alright, you don’t have to participate. But we can assure you that once all the details are released about prizes, etc. you will be kicking yourself for missing out on the head start.

One final remark about the contest. Your poem must be written in some fixed format. While you do not have to choose a ballad or other popular form, your focus should be on flow and rhythm as most traditional Epics were originally transmitted orally through music and song. Please keep this in mind when writing your Epic. It is not simply a prose story with line breaks.

As the process continues, help will arrive from all over the lit community for those participating. Keep your eyes open for these opportunities!

Contest Rules

1. All members of DeviantArt, except for PoetryPlease staff members and the contest judges, may submit a poem for consideration.
2. All entries, except for those poems submitted to last year’s Epyllion Contest, must be new entries submitted no early than January 1, 2009.
3. You must be willing to have your poem published at the contest’s completion.
4. No entry may be submitted officially to PoetryPlease before May 1, 2009. After this time, when you are ready to submit your entry, please send a note to PoetryPlease with “Epic Entry” in the subject and a link to the deviation in the body.
5. All entries must be received by 8pm EST on May 31, 2009.