Formal Fluency Mirror Challenge

Details

When we write poetry, we're attempting to hold a mirror to our world to explore just what it is we're seeing. Poetry is the lens through which we try to see the world and reconcile it with how we're feeling and what we're thinking about it. It doesn't do much good to see only one part of the world though. Either you're seeing the reflection you create, or you're seeing the world itself, the world beyond the mirror you've created. For this challenge, you're going to look at both the object and its reflection.

Subject: A mirror's reflection. It can be a literal mirror and its reflection (glass, a puddle of water, crystal ball, whatever) or a figurative one ("I see my world echoed back in what people say or do around me").

Style: Specular poetry. I didn't even know what specular poetry was until someone messaged me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I'd heard of it. Basically, specular poetry is just a normal until the midpoint of the poem. From then, every line contained up to the midpoint must be reversed in order. It mirrors the first stanza. The punctuation can be moved around, however, so that you can change the meaning and the sentence structure from that of the first (changing the meaning to the exact opposite if possible).

This is a really tricky concept, so here are a couple of examples:

• Forgiveness by dnmtwthlsrbm

You only have two stanzas to do this in, but there is no line limit. Make your space count. If you're having trouble, you can head over to the Formal Fluency group discussion and hash it out with your fellow poets. This challenge looks a lot harder than it really is, so put pen to paper and see what happens!

Winning entries

Winners have been announced! Log in to see them.

Prizes

Rules

• Entries must be received before midnight of Friday, October 5th (UTC time) and the winner will be announced within one week of that date.

• Entries must be specular poems about a mirror, literal or figurative, and its reflection.

• Part of our mini-contests is sharing what you've learned: although it's not required, we'd appreciate it if you come weigh in on the group discussion thread here.

• Only one entry per member, please. Multiple entries will all be disqualified.

• Work must have Public visibility on Scribophile until winners are announced.

• Winners must have a valid Paypal account, or we won't be able to send the prize money!

Submission guidelines

• To enter the contest, post your work on Scribophile and check the box that says "Enter this work into the Formal Fluency Mirror Challenge." Your work will automatically be considered. The checkbox will be visible until the contest deadline, which is in UTC time.

• Entry is free, but you'll need karma points to post your work. You can earn karma points by writing critiques of work by other members.

• If you have placed in a contest in the past with a particular piece, you may not resubmit that piece in other contests.