ROUND TWO: 12-epiphany vs. 4-radiant

Click here for authlete instructions.

Voter Instructions:

The countdown at the bottom of each pairing indicates how much time is left to vote.
- When voting closes, timer will disappear.
Read both poems as many times as you like.
Mark the poem you like best by clicking the circle next to its name.
Press the “Vote” button to record your vote.
Votes are counted in real time and cannot be changed once entered.
You can only vote once from a given IP address.
- Classrooms should submit one vote as a class.
- Students can then vote again individually from home.

Things to Consider in Making a Choice:

How well the poem incorporates the authlete’s assigned word.
Technical elements: meter, rhyme, form, shape, and other poetic standards.
Creativity: wordplay, imagery, unusual approach, etc.
Subtle elements that make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Your overall response: emotional reaction such as admiration, tears, laughter, terror, or some indefinable feeling.

Here are the poems:

12-epiphany
The Celtic Bard’s Song – A Triolet (TREE-o-LAY)
by Quinette Cook

Alas dear Muse, this bard’s undone, you’ve run away from me
and with you taken my inclination to compose epic poetry.

A discordant verse on lute or lyre will not please the King, his majesty.

Alas Brigit*, this bard’s undone, you’ve run away from me
and it goes unsaid my Lord will have my head. My life is in jeopardy.

Lightning strikes. An epiphany! I’ll write about the Queen, so ardently.

O dear Muse, this poet’s not undone, you’ve run back to me
and sparking my imagination, helped compose HERoic poetry.

*Brigit is the Celtic goddess of poetry and is often associated with a
perpetual flame. Perhaps the term “creative spark” comes from this.

vs.

4-radiant
How to Have a Cookout with a Dragon
by Elizabeth McBride

If a dragon drops in for a barbecue,
you had better make sure the meal isn’t YOU!
He can bake, he can broil, he can fry or sear;
toast or roast, (he does most in one breath, My Dear)!

So be quick! Close his mouth! Wrap it up with tape,
(only small puffs of smoke will make their escape).
Watch the fire building up all the way from his feet.
Cook your meal in the glow of his radiant heat!

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Bonnie Bailey

How beautiful, Quinette. I think you will please the king. And good advice, Elizabeth I like how you worked in the methods of cooking meat (in one breath!). Nice job ladies!
- Quinette Cook
  
  thank you Bonnie.
- Elizabeth McBride
  
  Thank you, Bonnie!
Samuel Kent

Q: The Púcas cheer for your Celtic references! Elizabeth: that better be some strong tape!
- Quinette Cook
  
  Go raibah maith agat, Samuel. (thank you)
  - Samuel Kent
    
    Sea, is Go gcuire Dia an t-ádh ort! (I think I got that right…)
    - Quinette Cook
      
      And who cares if you didn’t. You’re the best.
- Elizabeth McBride
  
  I sure wanted it to be duct tape, but it didn’t fit!
http://motherstreusel.com/ Mother Streusel

I love these two medieval poems…I had a really hard time deciding! Really really really hard time!
Stephanie Farrow

Quinette, I’m impressed by your courage in writing poems in forms that folks might not be familiar with. The triolet is perfect for this poem. Love it, really do. And Elizabeth, when I got to the part about taping the dragon’s mouth I burst out laughing. It’s like trapping alligators in Louisiana.
- Quinette Cook
  
  Go raibah maith agat (thank you), Stephanie.
  I also wrote a funny Limerick, but like the idea of sharing poetic forms in this competition. It may cost me. Do you think Ed will spot me a few extra points for the extra effort?
  
  But in all seriousness, Ed, what would you think about adding another layer of complexity to this contest? What if each round used a form as well as a line count? (Not like you don’t have enough to do.)
  - Laura Purdie Salas
    
    I LOVE the idea of the match-ups being the same form! Love love love.
    - http://www.thinkkidthink.com/ Ed DeCaria
      
      I invite all paired authletes to choose a dueling weapon of their choice. I’m stayin’ out of it!
      - Stephanie Farrow
        
        Smart man.
      - Quinette Cook
        
        Buk, buk, baaaack.
- Elizabeth McBride
  
  Thanks so much, Stephanie! I just wanted to do anything BUT write about an expected source of radiance! Glad you had a laugh!
Quinette Cook

Elizabeth,
Remind me to ask what and who will be at your bar-b-ques before attending. Ha, ha. Fun poem.
- Elizabeth McBride
  
  Quinnette! I won’t be there! Those dragons are not to be trusted! Let’s have coffee instead – it’s safer! Great job on your poem!
Laura Purdie Salas

These are awesome–love how both of them feature flame:>)
Buffy Silverman

You are brave to tackle a triolet in 36 hours, Quinette–and this one is HERoic! And your dragon has a radiant glow, Beth!
Quinette Cook

A triolet (TREE-o-LAY) is an eight-line poem in which line 1 repeats as lines 4 and 7 and line 2 repeats as line 8. The rhyme scheme is abaaabab. (Of course once you know the form you can bend the rules.) You can find an example of this and many other forms in “A Kick in the Head An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms” selected by Paul B. Janeczko.
Damon Dean

Quinette, your triolet was great.
I too panic when my muse departs, but soon I hear the toilet flush and she’s back.

Elizabeth, having bought a new bar-b-que grill this weekend, I now think I should have shopped instead at dragons-r-us.com.
Both fun poems with medieval flavors.
- Quinette Cook
  
  Damon, are you sure that isn’t Samuel’s Pooka?
  - Damon Dean
    
    Ha! Could’a been….
Quinette Cook

Congratulations Elizabeth! Go get ‘em in the next round. I’ll be cheering you on.
- Elizabeth McBride
  
  Thank you, Quinette! I am quite surprised. You wrote such a beautiful and complex piece! Keep writing and sharing your work! Blessings to you, Beth
  - Quinette Cook
    
    And you too!
Quinette Cook

Oh, pooka, this bard is toast thanks to a radiant dragon poem.
Stephanie Farrow

This was one of the most difficult pairs to vote on. I’m so sorry that only one could advance. Congratulations, Elizabeth, and back to trimming a new quill, Quinette!
http://motherstreusel.com/ Mother Streusel

Awesome match up! I thought both of these were great! Congratulations Elizabeth!
Quinette Cook

And this is the limerick I didn’t go with. The title is funny under the circumstances, don’t you think?

Sour Grapes
by Quinette Cook

There once was a bard named Sylvester.
Reciting verse for the King made him fester.
Grabbing grapes in despair,
he tossed them high in the air.
Epiphany! Now he’s Lester the Juggling Jester.
- Stephanie Farrow
  
  Hey! The dust devil poem started out as a limerick. Like minds.

ROUND TWO: 12-epiphany vs. 4-radiant

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