Should we have a poetry contest?

Ms. Haiku

I don't know about you all, but sometimes I'm more motivated if I have a contest i.e., Yale Series of Younger Poets. Anyone want to have a poetry contest? I think there are many talented poets on here that could really show their stuff when motivated. I don't know who would review the poems or the focus of the contest. Maybe we would just send them all to Pearl Jam without them knowing why they've been blasted with a bunch of poems, and have them figure it out, eh?

Any ideas?

FinsburyParkCarrots

Nah, hate the idea. Sorry.

Ms. Haiku

Ok, how about this:

On a monthly basis I will send via snail mail a "book" of people's 1 page art(poetry, prose, visual, whatever). Here's how it would work.

1. Email ONE 8 1/2 x 11 page of art to me as an attachment. I'll create a yahoo email address just for this. If a poem is two pages I won't accept it. If you send more than one piece I won't accept it. If the photograph is bigger than 8 1/2x 11 I won't accept it. I can't make color copies so there's no need to email color photographs/drawings/or colorful pages. Make sure that copyright symbol, and your name, and date, and anything else Fins thinks you need is on it somewhere.

2. I will download the attachments and put them in alphabetical order by author. I will 3-hole punch them, put the little fasteners in there, and send them to the Ten Club. I've sent them many things, and never received a response, so it's not for the Pearl Jam praise, but the sense of accomplishment.

3. I will only do this if someone else is willing to write the cover letter for that month. The cover letter will act as the cover. Is this a zine we would be creating?

The first one can be sent April 1st. What do you think. Considering that art would be sent via email it should be easy to do monthly, but I don't know.

Are you up for this? Do you see snags in the future?

FinsburyParkCarrots

That idea sounds much better. I didn't like the idea of a board contest though.

pacifier

Maybe you should write this idea under a different thread heading so more people take a peek. A lot of people probably overlooked the poetry competition title and idea.

pacifier

btw, where do you send your stuff to when you send it to Pearl Jam?

You could actually write a magazine from this board, including cartoons, funny quotes and some of the more interesting post or questions to pearl jam. You could even make an electronic form of the magazine each month and post it on this board. Just an idea. Perhaps a lot of work though, unless maybe jobs are divided between people. Or would that just being too much of a PJ nerd? yes, probably.

Ms. Haiku

pacifier wrote:

btw, where do you send your stuff to when you send it to Pearl Jam?

You could actually write a magazine from this board, including cartoons, funny quotes and some of the more interesting post or questions to pearl jam. You could even make an electronic form of the magazine each month and post it on this board. Just an idea. Perhaps a lot of work though, unless maybe jobs are divided between people. Or would that just being too much of a PJ nerd? yes, probably.

I send the stuff to the Ten Club Membership or whatever PO Box in Seattle. I won't do an electronic product. I'm not interested because I think people could just look here. I'm not going to write the magazine from this board or even on this board as that would make me an editor, and I don't want to fill those shoes. If someone else wants to do that more power to him/her. I think there's a lot of terrific electronic mediums that someone could really get his/her teeth into and make fabulous. As far as posting it here, I think that would make just another thread that would quickly go away instead of something different.

I like holding a book much more than looking on the internet, and I hope Ten Club staff and possibly Pearl Jam do, too. I just want to do the grunt work of pulling it all together, and hopefully add a poem of my own that I think is excellent.

dunkman

this is a good idea but i must admit the tone of your posts leaves me a little frightened of doing something wrong.

"I won't do an electronic product."
"I'm not interested because I think people could just look here."
"I'm not going to write the magazine from this board"
"I don't want to fill those shoes."
"If a poem is two pages I won't accept it."
"If you send more than one piece I won't accept it."
"If the photograph is bigger than 8 1/2x 11 I won't accept it."
I can't make color copies so there's no need to email color photographs/drawings/or colorful pages."

it just seems a bit... rulesy...

Ms. Haiku

Yep, it is. I wanted to put rules up front, but you're right, dunkman1974, the tone is wrong. I'll only do so much work, but the fact is I'm willing to do the work so that we can put a project together that we know will consistently be presented a certain way. I think with a lot of new projects it's the lack of just ground administrative rules that ruins it later. Ok, maybe some other time when I can present it better, and less hard-ass-like.

dunkman

at least your prepared to do something for all of us... and that can only be a good thing


i didnt want to sorta moan at you but it just came across a bit too teutonic for something that should be a fun thing to do..

hopefully this idea gets past the idea stage as it sounds pretty good



p.s. if people send you colour images or whatever, all you have to do is print them out on a monochrome printer and the image will be 'converted' to grayscale anyway... just a an idea

pacifier

Ms. Haiku wrote:

I send the stuff to the Ten Club Membership or whatever PO Box in Seattle.

I'm not sure, but I don't think your supposed to send fan mail to the Ten Club. I could be wrong. But maybe they throw it out. Maybe PJ never received what you sent.

Ms. Haiku

pacifier wrote:

I'm not sure, but I don't think your supposed to send fan mail to the Ten Club. I could be wrong. But maybe they throw it out. Maybe PJ never received what you sent.

There are a few po boxes. I don't know the exact addresses off the top of my head, but I just don't think they are going to throw away the stuff I give them. Give it away, sure, but throw away - then I would have to re-evaluate what I think of them. I've given them new books: Corelli's Mandolin, Richard Wright's Haiku, and another writing book. I've needlepointed 5 different petite kimonos (in keeping with the haiku spirit), and if they threw those away then . . . I could see those getting lost under a pile of papers, but thrown away - for shame! I don't get that ultra-snobby sense from them or the Ten Club staff.

The most and best though, was that haiku book I just sent in December because it contains work from many of us on this forum. I think it was very special, and had a lot of good energy. If they threw that away then there's something wrong. I saw it as a gift from all who participated, an unconditionally given gift. It was wonderful to do, and I sent good energy along with it. To give to Pearl Jam is in a sense to give to a black hole, but I've resigned myself to that and just keep doing it anyway. It's not the first or last time I've sent a gift to a stranger(s).