Young Writers Society

Poetry. There's an almost infinite number of quotes about it from over the years, and whether you love it or hate it, there's no denying that poetry is a remarkably significant part of the world. As a form of communication it can be divisive (to capitalise or not to capitalise?), but it also has the ability to put into words some of the most potent parts of the human experience.

And then there's prose. There are just as many sayings declaring the beauty of prose as there are those proclaiming the same of poetry. A good story can take you to places beyond your wildest dreams, and introduce you to people that you wish you knew in real life. Stories can take us to different worlds, or help us see our own world through different eyes.

So both poetry and prose are pretty awesome. That's why I present you with this: a short story contest, but with a poetic twist.

How it all works:
If you're interested in participating, leave a comment below. You will be sent a poem (through PM), from which you will write a short story. This story should be inspired by the poem you have been sent, whether through ideas, themes or lines.

Prizes:
3rd place: 500 points and 3 reviews on the works of your choice
2nd place: 1000 points and 5 reviews on the works of your choice
1st place 2000 points and 8 reviews on the works of your choice

A few rules:
Requesting poetry
You are allowed to request poetry up to a certain point.
-You can request a style of poetry
-You can request poetry from a certain era
-You can request poetry that deals with certain ideas
-You can request a specific poet PROVIDED that they have a considerable amount of poetry to choose from. For example, you can request Emily Dickinson, but not a poet who only has two poems published. However, I do ask that if a number of people have requested the same poet, then you don't. We'd like to have a bit of variety in there.
-If you would like to change poems, this is allowed, but please don't ask to change more than 2-3 times.
Other rules
There is no set word limit to this contest, however your story should be more than 500 words and probably not much longer than 3000.
All stories are to be published on YWS, with an author's note including the name of the poem you were given. Post the link here as a comment when your story is up.

The deadline for submitting your story for this contest is March 31st 2015. Any submissions after this date will not be taken into account.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

GOOD LUCK!

Sounds interesting. Pretty broad scope...
I might give it a go.

I'll do it!
Could I possibly request something by Carol Ann Duffy?

Count Me In

Hmmm... I have a question. :3

If a YWS'er is okay with it, could someone request one of their poems?
There are so many amazing writers on here. That would be wonderful.

@TimmyJake I'll say yes to requesting a YWS poet (just not a specific poem), with the same rules as requesting a 'famous' poet. I'd prefer if you didn't talk to the poet about it aside from asking permission, just so that you're on even playing ground with everyone else who doesn't have the option of discussing their poem with its poet.

@Gravity Do you have any preferences for your poem or are you happy with anything?

I have decided that I don't have any preferences for my poem. If it's one from YWS, then that is great. If it isn't, then that's fine, too. xD

I am in. Just a random poem would be fineee.

I'll try it. I'd love to have something from Billy Collins or a YWS poet.

I'm in.

I'd love to request William Carlos Williams as my poet.

Let's do this!
A Ted Kooser poem would be pretty fantastic.

I want to give this a go! Anything is fine!

I'd like to try, I'd prefer something more contemporary, I really like Julian Talamantez Brolaski, Kim Addonizio, etc.

Count me in! I'm fine with any poem.

Meee. I'd like a YWS poet, pleases.

@Pompadour Was there a particular YWS poet (or poets) that you had in mind? Just because there's so of it on YWS, and it's a part of the site I only have a passing familiarity with. You don't have to say whose poetry you'd like here, but if you could maybe PM me a few names that'd be great.
Same goes for anyone else requesting YWS poets. It would just make my life a little bit easier.