CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT – FAG/HAG SERIES
In celebration of the upcoming release of my book, My Life as Adam, I thought it would be fun to have a little poetry contest. My idea is to invite you, Dear Readers, to write the next poem in the Fag/Hag or Hag/Fag (or hell, Fag/Stag – Google the term “Fag Stag” if you are a straight man) series. No limit on lines, form, structure, subject matter, etc., just a poem that would fit, in your perception, under the title, “Fag/Hag (or Hag/Fag or Fag/Stag) Series: [Your Poem's Title]. Entries will be blindly judged by one of my oldest and dearest friends and the star of this series, the always opinionated MedicatedLady, who still holds a grudge against me because I won the coveted “Creative Writing” award in our senior year of high school and wants you to know that she is not, indeed, a Fag Hag.
To enter the contest, send a poem that you perceive qualifies as “fitting within this series” to my email address: PoeticGrin@aol.com
Don’t post your poem here – that will come later. I’ll collect the entries, remove the poets’ names, and present them to MedicatedLady to select a winner. Your perception of what fits into this series is completely up to you. It does NOT have to be about MedicatedLady and myself. Be creative and invent characters. Be revealing about a friendship (or more) from your past. Write a poem about the guy you knew was gay in school. Flip the script and write a poem that’s anti terms like Fag Hag. It’s all good.
The winner will receive the very first autographed copy of My Life as Adam, as well as a random object from the home of MedicatedLady.
The deadline for entry is Sunday, February 14th. I’ll post the entries on the blog after the winner has been announced, and let readers vote on a “crowd favorite” who will receive the second autographed copy of My Life as Adam and another random object from the home of MedicatedLady. (So yes, there will be two winners!)
Several examples of poems from the “Fag/Hag” series can be found by clicking the drop-down menu on the right side your screen. Other examples can be found at MedicatedLady’s website. However, entries do not have to emulate the style of poems we’ve written.
Good luck, and remember, you don’t have to be gay or a straight woman with gay friends to enter the contest! You don’t even have to be a poet! You just have to be, um, willing to experiment. Like we all did in college. Or that summer no one discusses.
Email your entries to PoeticGrin@aol.com, especially if you were going to buy Adam anyway. What do you have to lose?
- Bryan
I’ll spare us both the embarrassment and abstain from entering the contest, but I love the idea.
queerlefty
February 6, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Love this idea! I’ll see if I can think of something
Jessie carty
February 7, 2010 at 1:19 pm
If I win can I pass on the “random object” prize? The mind just reels with possibilities…..
This sounds like great fun….
karenfrommentor
February 7, 2010 at 5:32 pm
The random object might be expired medication, large clumps of hair, a $20 dollar bill, or homemade brownies from MedicatedLady’s mama. You would forgo this opportunity?
Bryan Borland
February 8, 2010 at 10:14 am
oh my gosh I made a list of the “random objects” I would most likely forego and you hit on 3 of them…mindreading must run in your gene pool
but just to be clear..on your list…were the large clumps of hair feline or human?
karenfrommentor
February 9, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Great idea Bryan. I’ll give it a go.
paulandrewrussell
February 7, 2010 at 5:44 pm
[...] Bryan Borland is hosting a poetry contest for his (and ML’s) FAG/HAG series. Stop by and take a look. [...]
Monday Shout Outs « 58 Inches
February 8, 2010 at 12:32 pm
This is so right up my alley…do not have to dig too deep if you think about something I said in the post you read…
Sir we may have more in common than you realize…
Chef E
February 8, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Bunny entered~
B. R. Belletryst
February 8, 2010 at 8:56 pm
good news 4 u,
great ideas!
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/sunshine-award-6th-12th/
an award 4 u.
jingle
February 11, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Hi, I’ve been a huge fan of your poetry but never really commented before. But I was interested in this contest and thought I’d ask for a clarification: Is the deadline the -midnight- going into February 14th? Or can we submit it at any time on Valentine’s Day? I’m just not sure I’ll finish my entry within the next couple of hours, haha. =) Thanks!
Tau
February 13, 2010 at 8:28 pm
MedicatedLady and I are easy. Well, one of us is easier than the other these days. (HA!) You can submit it any time on Valentine’s Day. You’ve got time! And let me tell you – MedicatedLady has some great stuff in her house to give away. I was there today. I found a nice globe I gave her for Christmas years ago… I’ve always admired it and I think she’s neglected it.
Bryan Borland
February 13, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Oh yeah – and THANK YOU for the compliment!
Bryan Borland
February 13, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Submitted! I was planning on waiting ’til tomorrow to maybe look at it with a fresh eye and revise, but I’ve been doing that plenty anyways and it doesn’t seem to be helping much. So it is what it is, hehe.
And Bryan, I am ecstatic that you took a look at my poetry blog! I just started it before the beginning of last semester, mainly because I was inspired by -your- poetry blog to start one of my own. (I guess that’s kinda creepy-sounding…oof.) Your mention of having the blog added to your links page is highly flattering, though I’m not sure it deserves such praise, haha. I’d be delighted anyways.
Aaaand…Globes -do- tend to be the most neglected gift ever. It’s unfortunate; hopefully MedicatedLady’s will find a new home. =)
Tau
February 13, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Thanks for the entries so far, guys! I’ve seen some great stuff! Glad I’m not the one judging… I’d have a difficult time. There’s not been a bad one in the bunch!
Bryan Borland
February 13, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Bryan, I’ve sent one in, and this is an advance warning to check your spam filter for my email. It is the same as my wordpress username, and I always have a hell of a time with yahoo and aol spam filters. So just in case, check for my entry. If you have not gotten it yet, I reckon, once you let me know, I’ll send it in through an alternate email address.
Looking forward to reading others’ submissions!
zxvasdf
February 14, 2010 at 10:08 am
Maybe I should have checked out the competition!
Chef E
February 14, 2010 at 12:13 pm
We’ve got some great entries! I’ll send everything to MedicatedLady in the morning… just in case we have a few who like to live dangerously and submit in the final hours!
Bryan Borland
February 14, 2010 at 7:27 pm
I’m a stoked and ready to give my medicated best to this project.
medicatedlady
February 15, 2010 at 9:09 am