WD Poetic Form Challenge: Hir A Thoddaid Winner
Here are the results of the Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge for the hir a thoddaid along with a Top 10 list. The next challenge will likely appear after the…
Here are the results of the Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge for the hir a thoddaid along with a Top 10 list. The next challenge will likely appear after the April PAD Challenge, which starts on Monday.
Here is the winning hir a thoddaid:
Still Life in the Afternoon, by William Preston
Across the cornfield I see a doe
pause in the stubble covered with snow
as a single sunbeam casts its glow
along her form; she is still, although
poised to fly at any sound or movement.
The Louvre has no higher art to show.
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Congratulations, William! "Still Life in the Afternoon" asks the reader to slow down and appreciate a moment, which is expertly crafted like a painter or sculptor. Line 4, in particular, is a brilliant piece of pacing followed close by the potential energy of the fifth line. Very well done.
Here’s my Top 10 list:
- Still Life in the Afternoon, by William Preston
- Evelyn With the Leaf Blower, by Jane Shlensky
- Blue Eyes Turned Gray, by Troy DeFrates
- The Dark Cosmic Swirl, by gpr crane
- What I Found, by Taylor Graham
- Music, by Tracy Davidson
- Maybe, by Darlene Franklin
- Sweet Dreams, by Uma
- She Wrestles With Hassles, by Nurit Israeli
- As for My Father, by Lisa L Stead
Congratulations to everyone in the Top 10! And to everyone who wrote a hir a thoddaid!
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community, which means he maintains this blog, edits a couple Market Books (Poet’s Market and Writer’s Market), writes a poetry column for Writer’s Digest magazine, speaks around the country on publishing and poetry, and a lot of other fun writing-related stuff. He loves learning new (to him) poetic forms and trying out new poetic challenges. He is also the author of Solving the World’s Problems and Smash Poetry Journal. Follow him on Twitter @RobertLeeBrewer.

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.