Prompt:

Le Sizain (With a Twist)

Readings suggest that French Romantic writer and politician Victor Hugo used this form. And the following are its features:

• The lines are odd.
• The rhyme scheme is aabccb.
• The syllable count: 7-3-7-7-3-7

Now the twist is Penmancy’s original (at least for this particular poetry event). Since March is Women’s Month, we want you to write a two-stanza Le Sizain in which the first stanza is a woman’s tribute to anyone (a man, a child, a parent, a guardian, a mentor, etc.) while the second stanza is a sort of a reply to the first stanza. Cool?

• Send in your entries,  as an attachment in a word document (.doc/.docx, any other file will not be published), to penmagica@gmail.com along with a 2-3 line bio (not required if previously sent).
• The subject of your mail should be Entry for #PenMuse-50 (compulsory).
• Along with your entry please send a suggested cover for your poem. (please send it as a separate attachment. Make sure it is a stock photo, no watermarks, and of high resolution –800 pixels and above). The elves at Penmancy are mighty pleased if a poem is accompanied by a cover.

• Rules:

1. 1. 1. The submitted poem must have a title (Keep it simple with no punctuation marks; all words more than 3 letters must be capitalized)
      2. There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit –though only the first submitted poem will be qualified for contention.
      3. Previously published or plagiarised works will not be considered for contention.
      4. Poems found to have been shared on another platform or blog before the declaration of results stand disqualified from the event, and the writer of such content stands to be disqualified for the next Penmancy event.
      5. In case a poem is received after the submission deadline, it shall be considered as a guest entry and shall not qualify for the event.
      6. Entries that don’t follow rules will be published and shared on the page and group but are disqualified for winning.

Winning criteria:

• The winner will be chosen on the basis of the votes taken during the Focus Group Discussion held on every 25th/26th of the month for the below categories:
  • Most Poetically Sound
  • Most Well-Versed
  • Emotional Impact
• The voters will vote on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the least and 5 being the most) on each of these parameters.
• The votes thus collected would be aggregated for each category.
• The results would pass through the filter of ‘prompt adherence’ to get to the final result. In case the best voted in any category fails at the prompt adherence litmus test, then the next best voted story would take the lead.
• The entries adjudged through this process shall be binding. No scores will be shared with the participants.
• All writers are required to read and comment on 5 stories other than their own and encourage their fellow writers with valuable and constructive inputs. Comments like “nice”, “good work”, “brilliant piece”, etc. do not provide the necessary critique and are not helpful for anyone.
• Participants of the Focus Group Discussion (to be held on every 25th/26th of the month) must be prepared with their queries and notes after reading the minimum number of stories.

•  Timelines-
  • The last date of submission is March 20, 2023 (Monday)
  • Winners shall be announced on March 27, 2023 (Monday)

The announcement of winners may be postponed or preponed depending on the number of entries received.

The winners of the event shall receive the book “Storm Beneath the Calm“ by Bandana Brahmin.

This book was extended for #BookNook Gift-a-book program by the author.

For questions related to the rules and criteria, please write to us at penmagica@gmail.com