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From: HeyBub on 1 Jul 2010 19:32
Pete Dashwood wrote:
> I have just finished writing code into the Bravado web site so that
> people can enter the annual Poetry competition on-line.
>
> It was a lot of fun, as I inherited the site and have just finished
> enhancing and upgrading it. Writing CGI code in C# that handles forms,
> validates them, updates a database, then attaches the poetry to an
> email which gets forwarded to the judge, was quite a challenge but it
> is all working now and the first entries are coming in. The whole
> process is fully automated (apart from the judging, of course) and
> unlike last year, where we had to manually enter details for 700
> entries, this year the administration is all done by software I
> wrote.(It is running on a server farm in Miami.)
> The Bravado Poetry Competition is international and pays $500 (NZ)
> first prize. (there are a number of other prizes in the form of cash
> and free subscriptions.)
>
> In case you think that poetry is "sissy" we get around 35% of entries
> from guys and some of them are excellent. I would really love to see
> a bloke walk off with the first prize.
>
> Good poetry is immediate and has an economy of words which is a lot
> like the efficiency of computer programming. It doesn't have to be
> flowery and it doesn't have to rhyme. In fact people often tend to
> constrain their poetry to fit the rhyme and that is a fatal mistake.
> Unrhymed poetry has a better chance of winning for that reason,
> although good rhymed poetry is still a contender. Japanese forms are
> becoming popular and Haiku, Tanka, and Haibun (look them up... :-))
> are all acceptable, along with traditional and modern English poetry.
> When the Japanese forms move from Japanese to English, the rules are
> more relaxed. For example, traditionally Tanka has the form 5-7-5-7-7
> (syllables per line) and must be five lines, but in English it is
> common to find around 21 syllables instead of 31, and the important
> thing is that it must be capable of being said in one breath...
> Here's a traditional form Tanka:
>
> see the day lilies!
> their flowers reflect the sun
> dying at day's end
> stolen blossoms from next door
> replaced in the new morning
>
>
>
> (note 31 syllables, 5 lines)
>
>
> (this was actually a first effort from a friend of mine. Not bad at
> all...)
> Here's a competition winner in the modern form of Tanka:
>
> stopped
> by a magpie's ochre eye
> taking in everything
> on the first day of spring
>
> (21 syllables and absolutely stunning...)
>
> OK, if this has whetted your appetite or you feel the need to capture
> a moment in a creative way, have a go at some of this and if you
> think you have got a hold on it, go to http://bravado.co.nz and try
> your luck.
> Obviously, I'm not allowed to enter it myself, but I'd be really
> chuffed if someone from this forum walked away with it :-)
>

Said Bill Clinton to young Ms Lewinsky,
"We don't want to leave clues like Kaczynski,
"Since you look such a mess,
"Use the hem of your dress,
"And wipe that stuff off your chinsky"


From: Pete Dashwood on 1 Jul 2010 22:33
HeyBub wrote:
> Pete Dashwood wrote:
>> I have just finished writing code into the Bravado web site so that
>> people can enter the annual Poetry competition on-line.
>>
>> It was a lot of fun, as I inherited the site and have just finished
>> enhancing and upgrading it. Writing CGI code in C# that handles
>> forms, validates them, updates a database, then attaches the poetry
>> to an email which gets forwarded to the judge, was quite a challenge
>> but it is all working now and the first entries are coming in. The
>> whole process is fully automated (apart from the judging, of course)
>> and unlike last year, where we had to manually enter details for 700
>> entries, this year the administration is all done by software I
>> wrote.(It is running on a server farm in Miami.)
>> The Bravado Poetry Competition is international and pays $500 (NZ)
>> first prize. (there are a number of other prizes in the form of cash
>> and free subscriptions.)
>>
>> In case you think that poetry is "sissy" we get around 35% of entries
>> from guys and some of them are excellent. I would really love to see
>> a bloke walk off with the first prize.
>>
>> Good poetry is immediate and has an economy of words which is a lot
>> like the efficiency of computer programming. It doesn't have to be
>> flowery and it doesn't have to rhyme. In fact people often tend to
>> constrain their poetry to fit the rhyme and that is a fatal mistake.
>> Unrhymed poetry has a better chance of winning for that reason,
>> although good rhymed poetry is still a contender. Japanese forms are
>> becoming popular and Haiku, Tanka, and Haibun (look them up... :-))
>> are all acceptable, along with traditional and modern English poetry.
>> When the Japanese forms move from Japanese to English, the rules are
>> more relaxed. For example, traditionally Tanka has the form 5-7-5-7-7
>> (syllables per line) and must be five lines, but in English it is
>> common to find around 21 syllables instead of 31, and the important
>> thing is that it must be capable of being said in one breath...
>> Here's a traditional form Tanka:
>>
>> see the day lilies!
>> their flowers reflect the sun
>> dying at day's end
>> stolen blossoms from next door
>> replaced in the new morning
>>
>>
>>
>> (note 31 syllables, 5 lines)
>>
>>
>> (this was actually a first effort from a friend of mine. Not bad at
>> all...)
>> Here's a competition winner in the modern form of Tanka:
>>
>> stopped
>> by a magpie's ochre eye
>> taking in everything
>> on the first day of spring
>>
>> (21 syllables and absolutely stunning...)
>>
>> OK, if this has whetted your appetite or you feel the need to capture
>> a moment in a creative way, have a go at some of this and if you
>> think you have got a hold on it, go to http://bravado.co.nz and try
>> your luck.
>> Obviously, I'm not allowed to enter it myself, but I'd be really
>> chuffed if someone from this forum walked away with it :-)
>>
>
> Said Bill Clinton to young Ms Lewinsky,
> "We don't want to leave clues like Kaczynski,
> "Since you look such a mess,
> "Use the hem of your dress,
> "And wipe that stuff off your chinsky"

There was a young lady from Natchez
Whose dress was all made out of patches
When they said: "You're a mess!"
"Just look at your dress!"
She said: "When ah itches, ah scratches..."

The Limerick gets laughs astronomical
In a space that is quite economical
But the good ones I've seen
Seldom are clean
And the clean ones seldom are comical.

While there is no rule banning Limericks form the contest per se, work
submitted DOES have to be ORIGINAL...:-)

With a mind like yours, Jerry, I'm sure you can do infinitely better than a
tired second-hand Limerick...

Think of it like a programming challenge... certain constraints on the form,
maximising impact, nothing wasted...

You may even arrive at some new insight about something you always took for
granted.

But mainly, it's fun... :-)

Pete.

--
"I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything."


From: Anonymous on 2 Jul 2010 07:53
In article <8951ftF74aU1(a)mid.individual.net>,
Pete Dashwood <dashwood(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote:

[snip]

>While there is no rule banning Limericks form the contest per se, work
>submitted DOES have to be ORIGINAL...:-)

Well, that rules out my favorite anti-Limerick (original source unknown):

There once was a young man in Limerick,
Who simply could not write a limerick!
When asked why this was,
He said 'It's because
'I'm from County Cork.'

DD
From: Pete Dashwood on 2 Jul 2010 08:46
docdwarf(a)panix.com wrote:
> In article <8951ftF74aU1(a)mid.individual.net>,
> Pete Dashwood <dashwood(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
>> While there is no rule banning Limericks form the contest per se,
>> work submitted DOES have to be ORIGINAL...:-)
>
> Well, that rules out my favorite anti-Limerick (original source
> unknown):
>
> There once was a young man in Limerick,
> Who simply could not write a limerick!
> When asked why this was,
> He said 'It's because
> 'I'm from County Cork.'

I like it :-) Not seen it before.

There was a young man from Japan
Whose limericks never would scan
When they asked him for why
He replied with a sigh:
"Because I always try and get as many words in the last line as I possibly
can."

Pete.
--
"I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything."


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