Alan would have enjoyed seeing this. thank you for the opportunity to do something creative in his memory.
You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
This is such a lovely way to honour his memory. I can't wait to read the entries. Best of luck everyone. xo
I've never written a serious poem. Now I might. Can they be totally non-sexual? Or do they have to be at least vaguely erotic?
I don't write poetry because poetry asked me to stop. I was making her cry.
Nonetheless, I can't wait to see what the real poets come up with.
Nicola, this is so touching and a wonderful gesture to a fine man's memory. I have no doubt that he would be incredibly honored were he here to see this.
I'm a poor poet, especially compared to many here, but I may try, if for no other reason than Alan would want everyone to express themselves in verse, regardless of their skill. To him, it was the art that mattered, and the writers passion for it.
I didn't know Alan, but I have read what others have said about him, and I agree that this is a wonderful way to honour his memory. It is therefore a hard call, because only the best we can do will be a fitting memorial to his life and work. I have been asked by my friend Ping to enter something, and I am flattered that he should consider my work sufficiently worthy of consideration. I am as yet undecided, but I will think hard about it for the next few days, hoping that inspiration might strike from wherever it is inspiration comes. It is certainly not something that I could just dash off and even if something comes to mind, it will require many hours of hard graft to craft the words into something I might consider entering - it was Tchaikovsky who said that composition was 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration, and as I am basically lazy I am going to need plenty of encouragement or even a kick up the pants (Elizabeth are you listening?)
To my dismay, I hadn't even realised he'd died. That's really sad. I always treasured some kind comments he'd made on some of my stories. A genuinely good man.
Im not sure I feel up to even trying to do justice to his memory through my trivial efforts at poetry. Though I do remember at least one delightfully funny and filthy piece of verse by him, so maybe he'd appreciate some smutty doggerel as much as high falutin' poetry.
This is a wonderful idea, Nicola! The notion of passion can be so open to creative interpretation and it's a perfect tribute.
I just have a mundane question as I was looking over the competition guidelines; "We are looking for poems, which convey the emotion of passion. For this competition, they do not necessarily need to be overtly sexual in nature (although they can be if you wish!)."
So, as well as ticking the competition box, if poems are not overtly sexual, or the passion expressed is not completely erotic, which Category should authors choose?
What Sprite said!
This competition is a little out of the ordinary, so we're not fussing too much over the categorisation or content of the poems all that much. Of course our preference is that the passion is of an erotic nature, primarily due to the nature of the site.
Think of it mostly as a homage to DM, and a way to show our appreciation for everything he did for so many online writing communities.
I wrote about the things Alan concerned himself with in many of his works. It isn't erotic, but my passion for these things is there.
I'm simply happy to be able to share something important and that I believe mean something. Thank you, Nicola, for allowing me that.
I didn't know Alan, I feel I wish I had. I'm pleased to submit one of my poems though, and hope he may have enjoyed its deep melancholy.
In the world's harsh wear and tear many a very sincere attachment is slowly obliterated.
Είμαι ταξιδιώτης τόσο στο χρόνο όσο και στο διάστημα
Will a poem written in free verse catch the eyes of the judges?
Or is the rhyme dictionary king of this comp?
