WD Poetic Form Challenge: Pantoum Winner
First off, let me thank everyone for writing such fun pantoums. I admit I was a little worried about reading so many because of the required repetition of the lines….
First off, let me thank everyone for writing such fun pantoums. I admit I was a little worried about reading so many because of the required repetition of the lines. However, the rhymes were fun and the subject matter delightful. It was fun reading. Thank you!
Second, let's get straight to the winner of this challenge, who is a veteran of the PA Street: RJ Clarken. I'm pretty sure most folks are familiar with RJ, but just in case, she loves to rhyme and has a habit for taking on ambitious poems. This poem is no different, because it's not only a fine example of a pantoum; it's also an ekphrastic poem!
Irises by Van Gogh, by RJ Clarken
Even in sadness, beauty can be found.
Van Gogh found it in asylum gardens.
From this, his masterpiece emerged, unbound:
an anodyne of blue-purple pardons.
Van Gogh found it in asylum gardens,
influenced by Japanese woodblock art:
an anodyne of blue-purple pardons
and vibrancy-filled brushes touched his heart.
Influenced by Japanese woodblock art,
black outlines made expressive this flower
and vibrancy-filled brushes touched his heart,
transporting him from his lonely tower.
Black outlines made expressive this flower.
Van Gogh's madness created such splendor,
transporting him from his lonely tower.
A thread of hope, no matter how slender.
Van Gogh's madness created such splendor.
Even in madness, beauty can be found.
A thread of hope, no matter how slender.
From this, his masterpiece emerged, unbound.
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Congratulations, RJ!
And here's the rest of the Top 10:
- "Irises by Van Gogh," by RJ Clarken
- "Namesake," by Jane Shlensky
- "Death Is Close," by Colin Dardis
- "Kiss My Poetry," by Jacqueline Hallenback
- "Supersize Me," by Tracy Davidson
- "She Said," by Louise Bilborough
- "My Poetic Secrets (Now Everyone Knows)," by Mary Mansfield
- "Reunion," by William Preston
- "Celebrities as Deities," by Daniel Ari
- "Books," by Nancy Posey
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Congratulations to everyone in the Top 10! And thank you so much to everyone who participated in this challenge!
Keep your eyes open. I plan to open and close the next poetic form challenge before we start the April PAD Challenge in 3 weeks!
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Check out some other poetic forms:
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
