Albert's Poetry Cafe's "In a Nutshell Contest" Poetic Form: "CENTO"  August 10, 2011 - August 31, 2011

POETIC FORM: CENTO!

From the Latin word for "patchwork," the cento is a poetic form made up of lines of POEMS FROM OTHER POETS. Though poets often borrow lines from other writers and mix them in with their own, a true cento is composed entirely of lines from other sources. Early examples can be found in the work of Homer and Virgil.

With lines from Charles Wright, Marie Ponsot, Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, and Samuel Beckett, the staff of the Academy of American Poets composed the following as an example:


"In the Kingdom of the Past, the Brown-Eyed Man is King
Brute. Spy. I trusted you. Now you reel & brawl.
After great pain, a formal feeling comes--
A vulturous boredom pinned me in this tree
Day after day, I become of less use to myself,
The hours after you are gone are so leaden."


Ok folks, I have posted what you need to know about the CENTO form, but in a "nutshell" (pardon the pun) all the lines of your poem must be borrowed from another poets. You can choose whomever you like. Compose 6 lines in all max. we don't want long poems.

We should come up with some marvelous writes and I expect some pretty humorous ones!

Additional Information:


Don't forget, your poems must not have any of your words in it. Also please include on your entry the LINES pertaining to the 6 poets you have chosen as well as their NAMES to be eligible for consideration.


Have fun, you have 3 weeks to do this and there are six prizes up for grabs!!

Cheers,

Helena


"The Moon Is Blind"
http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/HelensPlace/780098/

"Dimming of the Lamp"
http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/HelensPlace/781251/

Helena

Banora Point, N.S.W., Australia

6 Contestants
6 Submissions
442 Views
Created Aug 10, 2011