ROUND ONE: 4-liability vs. 13-vendetta

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:

4-liability
Fall Guy
By Callie C. Miller

My brother lacks all culpability,
Which makes him my worst liability.
But Mom thinks he pounded
the cookies–he’s grounded!
All thanks to my (burp!) sly ability.

vs.

13-vendetta
To My 2nd Period English Teacher
By Greg Pincus

My dog has it in for me badly.
I swear he’s the worst cur on earth.
I wish I could get away from the vendetta
He’s had against me since my birth.
Instead, he finds new ways to hound me.
My days are spent shaking with fear!
And he is why actually, truly and factually,
None of my homework is here.

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