The Humanity in Poetry Contest

Details

Deadline:Aug 31, 2011
Fee:Free

This month's contest is sponsored by a three anonymous Scribophile members in memory of Dallas Nguyen.

In March 1993, photographer Kevin Carter made a trip to southern Sudan, where he took the now iconic photo of a vulture preying upon an emaciated Sudanese toddler near the village of Ayod. Carter said he waited twenty minutes, hoping that the vulture would spread its wings. It didn't. Carter snapped the haunting photograph and chased the vulture away.

Carter eventually won the Pulitzer Prize for this photo, but he couldn't enjoy it. "I'm really, really sorry I didn't pick the child up," he confided to a friend.

Consumed with the violence he'd witnessed and haunted by the questions as to the little girl's fate, he committed suicide three months later.

One photograph can literally change the way you see the world. One photograph can bring you to tears, cause you to gasp with the sheer meaning of what the photograph represents. To enter this contest, submit a free verse (non-rhyming) poem under 1000 words reflecting the events in Kevin Carter's photograph. Stay true to your self when writing your poem, and stay true to the event in the photograph.

Winning entries

Winners have been announced! Log in to see them.

Prizes

1st prize:$100 cash via Paypal
2nd prize:$50 cash via Paypal
3rd prize:$25 cash via Paypal

Rules

  • Your entry must be free verse (non-rhyming) poem under 1000 words reflecting the Kevin Carter photograph above.

  • Entries must be received before midnight of August 31, 2011 (UTC time), and winners will be announced within two weeks of that date.

  • Entries will be judged by the Scribophile staff. Decisions are final.

  • Only one entry is allowed per member. 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 contest". 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.

  • Email submissions will not be accepted.