Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Great Race Poetry Competition results

Here are the winners:
2010-11 Poetry Comp


Open Section

1st Prize – Julie Morris: The Ghosts of Legends Past

highly commended – Mira Pavlovic: The Great Race

commened – Ray Clift: The Great Race of Earthly Life



Secondary

1st – Laura Zdanowicz: The Underdog



Primary

1st – Sarah Zdanowicz: The Swimming Race



District Council of Mallala Award

winner – Douglas Howard: That Same Feeling

Congratulations to all of the winners. There will be another poetry competition happening this year, with the winners to be announced in the early part of next year.

The entry form and guidelines will be published on this blog when they are released, but here is the sneak preview news about the theme this time - the theme will be a good one - Crossroads!

We can all relate to that one, I'm sure. I know I feel that I arrived at an important crossroad in my life journey when I was diagnosed with a chronic disease with no cure (yet). I could have curled up in a ball and wept all of the time, but I decided to take a positive path and so I'm still here, still doing all I can.

What important crossroads have you come to in life, whether it be love, work, health, sport, family or any other important thing. Get thinking about it and be ready with your best poetic efforts later in the year!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Poetry Competition Winners

It's nearly time for the winners of Adelaide Plains Poets poetry competition to be announced. We would be very pleased if you could join us at the next Poetry Reading in Gawler at the Prince Albert Hotel on 27 March at 2.00pm. The winners will be announced at the event and there will also be a guest reader and an open microphone.

So come along to find out if the judge picked your poem, and also bring some more of your poems to read on the day (readers pay a gold coin donation and their poems read may be picked to be published in an anthology at the end of the year).

The judge will give a report on their thoughts about this competition and the entries received. The President of Adelaide Plains Poets will also speak about the competition for this year and will give some news about the competition for next year.

The Gawler Poets at the Pub is an event that is rapidly gaining new fans, and we hope you might become a fan too.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Different Styles of Poetry

There are many different styles of poetry, from serious and lengthy odes to silly and rude limericks. Some poets always write rhyming poetry, some write free verse non-rhyming poetry. Other poets, and I'm one of them, write in a variety of different poetic styles.

The chosen form of a poem may be dictated by the rules of a poetry competition, or it may be written in a particular form as a game to see if you can do it. One poetic form, the villanelle, is a tricky form that I have written in just to see if I could do it. I tried it and liked it, but it's not an easy game. Writing limericks is easier, and lots of silly fun too!

The villanelle poem that is best known to people is one by Dylan Thomas that begins 'Do not go gentle into that dark night...' You can read more of this poem and more about this form of poetry here.

If you are interested in exploring poetry and poetic forms some more, I suggest you go to this website and read about many of the forms on offer. Your will also learn about various terms that have a specific meaning when talking about poetry. Of course, if you truly wish to learn more about these different forms, you could try writing one, and learn about it from the inside out! You'll learn to respect more, other poets who write well in a structured poem.

A good poem can look simple, but it can be damned hard work making it look so easy.
I hope you are inspired to take a deeper look into the wonderful world of poetry!