WD Poetic Form Challenge: Sevenling Winner
This may have been the most difficult challenge I’ve had to judge yet. The writing was so good that more than 40 poems made my first cut and nearly 30…
This may have been the most difficult challenge I've had to judge yet. The writing was so good that more than 40 poems made my first cut and nearly 30 made my second cut. Then, it got really tough trying to narrow down to a Top 10 and a winner. (Click here to read all the entries in the Comments.)
The winner for this challenge is Colette Disford for this sevenling:
Sevenling (Teacher catches child), by Colette Disford
Teacher catches child daydreaming--
wandering mind, carried away,
lost in his own thoughts.
Teacher makes child stare at corner
in cloakroom, hallway,
or principal's office--
where he can't help but daydream.
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While this sevenling is technically sound (click here to read more about the sevenling form), what I really enjoy is the cyclical lesson found in this poem. Of course, there were several other contenders for top poem, including a 3-part sevenling.
Here is the complete Top 10 list:
- "Sevenling (Teacher catches child)," by Colette Disford
- "Sevenling (No brakes)," by Taylor Graham
- "3 Sevenlings," by Yoly
- "Sevenling (Along Cemetery Road)," by Rachel Green
- "Sevenling (I ran away)," by Cate
- "Sevenling (You've saved articles written)," by Marian O'Brien Paul
- "Sevenling (In our orchard)," by Taylor Graham
- "Sevenling (Mistress)," by Shalon Davis
- "Sevenling (Everyone sighs)," by Daniel Ari
- "Sevenling (The three blind mice)," by Tracy Davidson
Congratulations to everyone who made the Top 10 list! And thank you to everyone who participated! It's so much fun to read through these entries every month or two, and I love seeing the winners show up in issues of Writer's Digest!
The next challenge should be posted sometime very soon, so get ready!
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Follow me on Twitter @robertleebrewer
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Check out previous winners in Writer's Digest!
The winners of these poetic form challenges end up in the pages of Writer's Digest. For instance, Colette's poem above should appear in the May/June 2011 issue. So keep up with the printed Poetic Asides column while learning so much more about writing and publishing with a subscription to Writer's Digest.
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.
