Entries are now being received for the June edition of the Words Rhymes & Rhythm (WRR) BRIGITTE POIRSON POETRY CONTEST (BPPC) SEASON III, 2017. In this month’s edition, there will be no central theme.
Participating poets are expected to simply verse ‘AS THE MUSE LEADS’, expressing the freedom of the poet to follow his or her muses’ direction when creating. This was inspired by the fact that themes sometimes limit the poet’s creativity.
‘Poetry is simply the most beautiful, impressive, and widely effective mode of saying things, and hence its importance.’ — Matthew Arnold
‘Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.’ — T.S.Eliot
‘Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.’ — William Wordsworth
We therefore invite poets from all over the world to submit well-worded poems ON ANY THEME, as their muses inspire. Judges will be focused on ORIGINALITY and the poet’s’ use of LITERARY DEVICES in the poems.
Entries will be received until 11:59 PM FRIDAY JUNE 30, 2017.
Prize to be won:
- The winning poem will be awarded a cash prize of N7000 and a copy of the BPPC 2017 anthology
- All top 10 poems will be automatically entered for the Albert Jungers Poetry Prize (AJPP) 2017
- All top 10 poems will be published in the annual BPPC 2017 anthology
- All top 10 poets will receive a free copy of the BPPC 2017 anthology
- Authors of the top ten poems will also be awarded a certificate each
Guidelines:
- Contestants are invited to submit one poem on ANY THEME
- Submissions should be sent to SUBMISSIONS@WRR.NG
- All entries must be the original work of the poet submitting it
- No ATTACHMENTS. Please submit poem and other details as body of mail
- The CONTESTANT NAME, CONTEST MONTH, & POEM TITLE must be mentioned clearly, as the subject of the e-mail. For example: ‘Abubakar Nnamdi Adekunle, BPPC June 2017, ‘NO MAKE MISTAKE’
- The maximum length of the poem should be 28 lines (plus the title). Poems exceeding this length will be disqualified
- Authors must provide their full names and Facebook ID [for identification]and a 50-100 word biography in the body of the e-mail
- Submission deadline is 11:59 PM FRIDAY JUNE 30, 2017..
Note that:
- Poems containing profanity, racism or vulgarity will be automatically disqualified
- The poems will be judged based on their artistic quality and creativity
- The judges’ decision is final and under no circumstances will they enter into any correspondence with entrants regarding their decisions
- The copyright of each submission remains with its owner but we retain the right to publish ALL and ANY entry in the annual BPPC anthology
- Poets resident in any part of the world are eligible
- No entry fee required
- Past winners may enter for the competition, but a poet can only one once in a calendar year (Season). If a past winner makes the TOP 10, the poems will ONLY be awarded a certificate and be featured in the anthology.
The May 2017 edition was won by Rachel Ige, a law graduate of the University of Ibadan, the first female winner in the competition. She was preceded in April by Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, a student at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State.
The overall winner of the SEASON III (February to September 2017) will be awarded the Albert Jungers Poetry Prize (AJPP) 2017. Kanyinsola Olorunnisola won the prize in 2016.
The BRIGITTE POIRSON POETRY CONTEST (BPPC), a brainchild of Words Rhymes & Rhythm (WRR), is a monthly writing contest aimed at rewarding the under-appreciated talent of young Nigerian poets. It was instituted in February 2015 in honor of Brigitte Poirson, a French poet and lecturer, editor, who has over the years worked assiduously to promote and support of African poetry. Now in its third season, and being one of the few credible contests, the BPPC has since grown to be one of country’s most popular, especially among the younger poets.
