..........................................................................................................................Judge Central
ɯǝɥʇ dıɥsɹoʍ---
...................................................................................................................knight_of_chivalry - Ed
Heeey all of ye, my username's knight_of_chivalry, but feel free to call me Ed.
I’m mainly a WC reg, with the occasional trip to the OP/L. I'm in my first year of University, use sugarhighs to get me through the day, and crash by roughly 9. This'll be my first time as an official colosseum judge, though I've had experience judging before as a guest judge and also by running a contest with a mini-colosseum running within it (besides critting in the OP/L).
If you want to know more about me, lemme know, if there’s one thing on this earth I know how to do is talk continuously.
Cheers!
...............................................................................................................................Seraphly - Sera
Name: Seraphly
Alias: None, but you can call her Sera.
Age: 21
Seraphly is a young, aspiring lawyer with the ability to find one's weakness and exploit
it in the most brutal sense. Her love of poetry was discovered by accident when reading
a young adult's novel written by Janet McNaughton, named The Secret Under My Skin.
The author's use of John Milton's sonnet, On His Blindness, to advance deepen
the themes within a seemingly simple novel inspired Sera to find meaning
and brilliance through the art of literary imagery.
At 17, her poem "What it is to Fly" won a provincial writing contest. Seraphly thanked
her peers and critics on Gaiaonline, as it was there where that the poem was constantly
torn down and rebuilt from the advice of many site members.
Since then, Seraphly has frequented the forum, where she continues to grow in both her
writing and ability to critique poetry. She is a firm believer that poetry has helped in all aspects
of her life, but especially applying the elements of poetry to all other writing styles.
Seraphly enjoys poetry that is full of concrete imagery, regardless of form. But, she also
believes that a poem should have a point.
Prose poetry, as well as substantiated freeverse are among her favourite forms,
but Sera has an appreciation for all literary images.
..............................................................................................................................Adimurti - Chris
Hello! I'm Adimurti (or Adi, or Chris), twenty-two years of age, and hate writing intros (seriously, who knows what to put in these things?).
I left college with qualifications in a few things, but my main subjects were British and European History, Social Science, and 'Pre-Teaching'. I'm the captain of the Acumen, and have experience from critiquing there, and in the OP/L. I love finding out about new forms of poetry, and equally love trying my hand at them, although not always being left with the desired quality. I hate repetition, and any form based on it. Hate. I've been writing for a good seven years - okay, the first couple were awful in quality, but still.
Anyways - that's all I can think of that could be seen as remotely interesting about me, so yeah.
Happy duelling!
............................................................................................................................Sin Apophis - Ash
I'll try to make this quick, to spare you all the suffering. (No one really reads those wall-of-text posts that go on and on about everything one ever did in his or her life.)
You can call me Sin or Ash, depending on whether you want the intimate or internet approach. I'm in college studying Psychology with a minor in Creative Writing. I plan to get my Ph.D.
In the meantime, I'm an editor for my school's literary magazine, and I judge a few contests on Gaia, as well. I turn 20 in May.
Thanks for reading.
...................................................................................................................................................Zeo
I take your submissions seriously and hope that you do as well. If you should ask for my critique: I don’t sugarcoat my critiques, because true art takes work to craft well. I’m a Virgo, so you’ll get a Virgo critique--thorough and nit-picky (grammar, punctuation, line break placements, use of poetic devices). I’m also interested in how a poem communicates to the reader and how effectively it does so. A poem should speak for itself,
so if I feel it is not doing so I will tell you. I prefer free verse and/or prose poetry to forms, but I'll judge/critique form poems as well. I give long, detailed critiques, so be prepared for a novel-length analysis should you seek my insight.
.............................................................................................................................................Gambol
˙ollǝɥ
zzz.
hello.
the name's gambol.
i'm a very laid-back person. i try to be easy-going. i even look pretty absent-minded.
aw, shucks. i am.
but!
if there's one thing i'm serious about, it's some good poetry, and
encouraging other writers in the writing of poetry.
i tailor my critiques to help you take your duel entry to the next level.
unfortunately, i don't quite have the free time that
i would like to have--but i am usually more than willing to
help you out with poetry and such later.
i am the most interested in imagery in poetry--and
how that forms a foundation for a poem.
stuff i'm writing these days: actually, i've become a prose writer,
after six long years of focusing exclusively on poetry.
and, go figure, i am most known for my imagery in my prose. ha!
˙ǝɯıʇ oʇ ǝɯıʇ ɯoɹɟ ʇxǝʇ uʍop-ǝpısdn ɥʇıʍ
ǝsɐɔɹǝʍol uı ǝdʎʇ oslɐ ı
i am also fond of using Chrono Trigger sprites,
so if you have character preferences, feel free to include that.
................................................................................................................zero the last decepticon
Regular and Flash Duels Only!
The name says it all. I'm the last of my kind, and I'm all about it.
I won't argue, and I won't nitpick. I'll be brutally honest, open, and crass.
I'm fair, but I'm not the one to run to for worthless praise. I like to write, and I enjoy reading good writing.
Anything less deserves the short end of a plasma cannon.
I don't take bribes, but I enjoy tips. wink In short: Don't pick me for a judge,
unless you want to stand in front of a large crowd naked.
But if you have what it takes, then I'm all for helping out.
.......................................................................................................................................................
Jewel
One Woman's Opinion
(Written as a prelude for a past critique. Please read carefully, JUDGES, and please DO offer feedback.)
Before I give you both my critique and judgment, I would like to say a few things about the way I judge in general and with sestinas in particular (which I will address in my actual
critique/judgment post).
I look at poetry as a personal medium, open to a wide range and variety of acceptance, approval, liking, and opinion. Many critics find themselves locked into a narrow view, based solely on their own preferences and criteria regarding what they see as good poetry. I find this to be a mistake for many reasons.
Poetry, unlike other forms of writing, has a wider diversity of style, form, and expression--often leaving the reader in one of several states. You may show one poem to ten people and receive ten different interpretations or affect resulting in reactions including approval, disapproval, disgust, understanding, perplexity, anger, joy, melancholy, revulsion, etc.
There are two ways to approach an opinion about anything: head (intellectual) or heart (emotional). While we are all affected on an emotional level by anything we read, when it comes to evaluations, I prefer to take a more clinical approach.
While it does matter to me what a poet is trying to say to some degree (especially if I have been given some helpfully insightful explanation), I let the poem speak to me as an individual reader. Who can really know or understand what any given poet is saying? No two people are alike in background, life experience, ideals, spirituality, and other life-molding matters. Matters that will naturally have an impact on what they write and how they write it.
One example I will give of a personal preference in poetic style: capitalization.
I went to the store | I went to the store | I went to the store.
To get apples | to get apples | To get apples.
Because I was | because I was | Because I was.
Hungry. | hungry. | Hungry.
Of course there are many poems that have a universal audience and are clearly understood (we think). There are famous, and accepted as expert, poets whose work is rarely questioned. It may be dissected and explored in various situations but it is rarely accused of being rubbish.
All of that being said, I just wanted to let you know that I base my critiques on technical criteria (and even so am loathe to be harsh regarding any writer's choice of punctuation, grammar, or form unless it is a formal one, unless such things are glaringly unappealing, or unless it is an obvious mistake) more than emotional ones, even though a bit of that may be thrown in based on my own likes and dislikes. Remarks made about a poem may be valid to the writer or not; may validate the intended message, or frustrate the writer by making him feel misunderstood or maligned.
Poetry is more than words on paper. Poetry is a powerful, dynamic, and potentially life-changing experience. If everyone was satisfied by the same styles, content, phraseology, and the like, there would not be so many writers, in any category of writing. Prosody is one thing, enjoyment another.
There is nothing more painful than to be told a poem was "disappointing", "tripe", "unmoving" or any other negative, narrow-sighted opinion. One person's disappointment may be another's applauded surprise. One person's tripe may be another's grateful acknowledgement that there is someone else in the world who relates to a personal circumstance. What may not move me may move you.
Skill and talent are so very much matters of perception, perspective, and are so dependent on a reader's individuality that they defy any concrete evaluation. The most we can hope to achieve is to assist a writer to re-examine his work, think more carefully about such things as word choice, correctness (when dealing with any particular form), structure, and other technicalities, while at the same time encouraging whatever emotional or intellectual message is being conveyed.
Nothing disturbs me more than accusing a poet of omitting details, explanation, or imagery! Fill in the blanks for yourselves! Ohsure, sometimes something has to be said if it's called for, but not in each and every poem read! Some poetry, like prose, may be minimalist. See it for what it is, interpret it as you will, and leave the poor writer free of rude remarks based on that -alone-.
Yes, of course there is the blatantly poor poetry that we all recognize, but even so, the poet may be gently guided to improve, practice, and hone any possible aforementioned skill and talent, whatever his age or experience. Encourage. Do not belittle.
There may be a time and place for brutal opinion, but it must be seen for just that, understood and accepted by both writer and reader, and not used irresponsibly. "I did not like it" is not a valid critique, even when long and tedious reasons are given. If you like it, great. If you do not, critique from your head. Be honest. Be specific. Be clear. Do not expect your little hand will be held as you read. Dead poets do not do that for you, and neither should any living ones.
Ohsure, discussion and exchange of ideas are nice. Welcomed. Learned from. But look at the big picture and remember one thing: In the end, only kindness matters. (Jewel)
HP
Hawkeye: I will not carry a gun, Frank. When I got into this war I had a very clear understanding
with the Pentagon. No guns. I'll carry your books, I'll carry a torch, I'll carry a tune, I'll carry on, carry over,
carry forward, Cary Grant, cash and carry, carry me back to old Virginie, I'll even hari-kari if you show me how,
but I will not carry a gun!
Mahayr
Thank you Ni Che, for finding this for me again!
kiss