HERE AT Global Voices we're in love with lots of things: blogging, international friendships, foreign languages, free wi-fi. And there are even some of us on the GV team who don't consider Valentine's Day a cheesy occasion viewed positively only by Americans, florists, chocolatiers and the CEOs of greeting card companies.
So, when — on soliciting suggestions for a way to mark Valentine's Day in these pages — our co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon mentioned a poetry contest she ran on her blog a couple of years ago, we fell so deeply in love with the idea that we decided to steal it for ourselves.
So if you're in the mood for love, or even if you view Valentine's Day (or love) with a jaundiced eye (as we all know, some of the best poetry is born of distress), please take part in our Valentine's Day poetry contest.
CONTEST RULES
- Entries must be in some sort of verse, not necessarily rhyming
- Entries must be no more than 30 lines long
- Entries must in some way have to do with 1) love/Valentine's Day and 2) blogging/citizen media, and have some sort of “regional flavour” (we'll leave it up to you to decide what that means)
- Entries may be submitted in any language, though submissions NOT in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Farsi or Mandarin Chinese MUST be accompanied by an English translation
- Entries are open to anyone anywhere in the world, including Global Voices editors, authors and advisory board members
- Entries must be the original work of the entrant and should not have been previously published elsewhere before February 1, 2007
- Entries must be submitted in the comments section for this post and will be moderated according to the guidelines governing all other comments received at Global Voices (ie no hate speech, obscenities etc). Feel free to send in as many as you wish, but please submit only one poem per comment box
- Entries must be posted by midnight PST (GMT -8) on Wednesday 14 February, 2007 to be considered for the contest (please provide a genuine email address)
The winning entries will be showcased on the Global Voices web site.
So what are you waiting on? In some parts of the world it's already Valentine's Day, so get cracking on that haiku/limerick/ghazal/madrigal/sonnet/ode/gangsta rap/elegy about the wonders/joys/perils of love!
UPDATE: The contest is now closed!
Image: A costume component from the “Heart that Sings” section of “The Sacred Heart”, Peter Minshall's 2006 presentation for the Trinidad & Tobago carnival. Courtesy caribbeanfreephoto.
52 comments
He who spikes my page
views, gently clicking
through. Cursors hovering,
touching.
I blog your ablutions,
spam your trolls, come
back and comment under
names.
Your sexy typing, your
languid html. They spin
me, feed my bulging, sacred
opml.
Then at night, my slightly
crazy eyes scan the moderation
queue, but none, from
you.
My blog that smelled sweetly
of Valentine and love, waits
with buxom posts, for your IP
to show.
Bachata
(for Nadia)
After every party in our house
when the reggae, reggaeton, R&B
have exhausted the younger couples,
and they sit separately to cool down,
I want to dance with you,
the way our friends, Miguel and Ramona,
who have made a promise,
that despite their struggle
with lawyers, bill collectors, and cancer,
they will never leave each other,
and whenever the bachata begins–
we stop to watch how
he will catch her–
she spins out of his arm’s reach
they pass like strangers,
but then his hand
finds the small of her back,
her legs quiver to the old music,
and they are partners in time
with the rhythm, once more.
Dear All
I,m alone man no body love me but like a girl she did,t like me by
i wish you were in my room….
on my bad,,,
the light is off ,we are under the blanket and
………..i show u my new mobile
Tangy
Love, they say, is an act
of faith and that too blind
Oblivious, to my lack of tact
I set out with an open mind.
Poetry and prose scattered
on blue pages of my washed out blog
As though nothing else mattered
Except the comment space you hog.
Come hither, beckoned the monsoonal call
Jump in the puddle and splash me with mud
Let the number of clicks and links not matter at all
Litter, all over my page, your well-chewed cud.
As the world screamed, work!, in capital mails
A small `heylo’ sneaked in and sat
A smiley hugged, winked and embarked on tales
Vexing my answers with questions pat.
O moi valentine, so I say today
My tangy, imli-sauteed-papri-chaat
Let my tummy complain from now till May
I’ll eat you with all my heart.
—————
Imli is the hindi word for Tamarind. Papri Chaat is an Indian fast food.
The link to this post on my blog is:
http://firstrain.blogspot.com/2007/02/tangy.html
LOL Neha! Shall I allow my imagination to run wild!!!
Amira: Like you need my permission! Heh!