AO's Contest WINNERS for January 2011

Posted by Amias (ljm and liquidplastic) on Monday, February 28, 2011 | Leave a Reply

From the Judges:

“The prompts were not easy, and therefore all participants must be congratulated for their efforts. You all did a wonderful job.

We subscribe to the belief that “there are many who write poems, but very few true poets.” Nevertheless, it was challenging for us to come up with winners for January 2011 submissions. Believe me when I say, there was much discussion doing this process, as we desired to choose the best. That being said, we would like to announce the following winners, please join with us in congratulating all of them:

We had decided to eliminate the title “Poet of the Month”, but this month brought us an amazing addition to our circle of young and old poets, and as such, we voted to give out this title sparingly, and only when the poet is truly deserving. One such person is Nanka. She well deserves this award, and we site her “Acrostic Haiku” as further proof of her most unique talent.

There are many different styles of Haiku, many writers never stick to the rules. We believe that for a poem to be labeled as a “true” haiku it must keep to the traditional Japanese style and subject matter. Nanka, not only kept to the traditionally way of writing a Haiku, she followed the prompt with great finesse. Please won’t you join with us in congratulating her for receiving this most deserved award!


Single Word (SW) – BACKBONE


Amias, Winner for her unique take on the metaphoric concept of what it takes to have a “Backbone”.

RS, Honorable Mention for his unique take on the literal meaning of the need for humanity as a whole to have a “Backbone”







Two Words  – ABSENT-MINDED
Amanda Moore, Winner for her real and sometimes amusing take on what it means to be “Absent-Minded”.

Around The World – STOCK MARKETS
RS, Honorable Mention for his literal meaning of what goes on in “Stock Markets” around the world.


Acrostic Sonnet (AS) – UNPLEASANTNESS

Writing a Sonnet is never an easy task. Many have attempted it, but few have really stepped up to the plate. It was made more difficult when we asked participants to do an “Acrostic Sonnet”. To our amazement, two participants stood out, and they both created amazing and creative “acrostic sonnets”. The contrast between these two writers’ sonnets is very interesting.

Nanka, Winner for her amazing acrostic sonnet that takes you on a joy ride into the "Unpleasantness" of realizing you are dead.

Write Girl, Honorable Mention for her unique acrostic sonnet on a very "Unpleasant" situation as it relates to love, and all the pain it entails.

Acrostic Short Stories is one of our favorite prompts. It not only helps the writer to stay focus, but when written creatively, it becomes an amazing piece of art that can be enjoyed for years to come. For those who met the challenge, we offer out most heartily congratulations.

 
Acrostic Short Story – BACKDROP
Amias, Winner for her story on a most dreaded disease, Alzheimer, which steal memories and leave the victims to the whim of fate, many, shut away from their love ones until they die.

Nanka, Honorable Mention for her story about poverty and pain, and the irony of how it affects almost every facet of our lives --- but in spite of it we persevere.





Acrostic Short Story – BOOKMARKS
Nanka, Winner for her wonderful acrostic short story on bookmarks, relating to Karma, and being released from captivity.

Write Girl, Honorable Mention for her short story on bookmarks, skillfully linking the present with the past, and what one may see in a looking glass as time passes.