SONNET AND GHAZAL CONTEST


I already have two contests, "POETRY IN RHYME - RHYTHM CONTEST-winner"  and "FIVE STAR POETRY CONTEST:editor's choice" .

Then, why a third?

The answer: all these three contests have one thing in common—they are aimed at excellence in poetry. Two of these are exclusively meant for poetry written in rhyme and meter. The present contest is confined to ghazals and Shakespearean sonnets. I love both of these forms and have written plenty of both types—


"ENGLISH GHAZALS" —Ghazals

"LINKS TO MY SONNETS" —Links to my sonnets


RULES—

1--ENTRY FEE: You need to review any item of your choice from my port. The review must not be earlier than 7 days prior to submitting your entry. The entry post should include the following sentence--
"I have reiewed the following item.............. towards the entry fee".

2—PERIODICITY--It is a monthly contest starting 21st of each month, ending on 20th of the next month. (My oldest contest will start on 1st of the month; the second will start 11th of the month; the third, this one, on 21st.)

3—ENTRIES--You can enter one ghazal and one sonnet in each round.

4--FORMAT OF GHAZALS--Ghazal should follow the guidelines in "WHAT IS A GHAZAL AND HOW TO WRITE IT?" . A ghazal without a refrain is permitted. Please note that a good ghazal is not a mere jumble of rhymes. It should have an emotional content.

5--FORMAT OF SONNETS--Sonnets should be of Shakespearean type (14 lines-- 3 abab quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet).

6--SYLLABLE COUNTS--For sonnets, there must be 10 syllables in each line. For ghazals, the chosen syllable count per line must be stated.

7—PRIZES—An item must be rated 5 stars by me to be eligible for a prize. The best ghazal gets 3000 GP. The best sonnet gets 2000 GP. The same person may win both prizes. Additional prizes may be given.

8--RESTRICTIONS—Nil. Enter old, new, awarded, awardicon holder, linked, unlinked (directly in the forum)………However, bitem link preferred. Repeated entries allowed. Same entry allowed in all 3 contests of mine at same or different times. There is no bar on an outstanding entry getting first prize in all three contracts concurrently.

8—PROMPT--None

9—DONATIONS—Accepted and welcome. You may send directly to me. All will be duly acknowledged. Donations are requested to enable me to keep my poetry contests going. I spend 240,000 GP in an year for my contests and need support.


HOW TO SEND AN ENTRY

Please post the entry as a bitem link. If not possible, post through any other link or, even, directly in the Forum.

If you do not know “How to Submit a post in BITEM FORMAT”, please look up "How to Submit a post in BITEM FORMAT" 



* Showcased in the Contests & Activities Newsletter dated 29 October 2009.
* Showcased in the Contests & Activities Newsletter dated 7 July 2010.
* Showcased in the Authors Newsletter dated 9 February 2011.

M C Gupta
11 April 2009




LIST OF DONORS

~Sue, away for a while~ 10,000 GP

chopstix 5,000 GP

EarlyHours 30,000 GP

chickpea 500 GP