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Get Comfortable
Write a poem that celebrates what gives you comfort.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $5,000
- Second Place:
- $1,000
- 10 Runners-Up:
- $100
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Aug 18, 2022
Submissions closed
Oct 01, 2022 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 15, 2022
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $5,000
- Second Place:
- $1,000
- 10 Runners-Up:
- $100
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Aug 18, 2022
Submissions closed
Oct 01, 2022 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 15, 2022
About this challenge
Comfort is such a common pursuit, yet we all seek it in different forms and for different reasons. The form our comfort takes changes based on how old we are, our surroundings, our circumstances. Comfort may once have been a security blanket or a teddy bear; now it may be the smell of freshly-baked bread or your best friend’s smile. The feeling of sand between your toes or the first page of a favorite book. Comfort is both personal and universal, and, regardless of how we obtain it, it brings us all joy.
The Prompt:
Write a poem (between 100 and 2,000 words) that expresses what comfort means to you.
This is poetry that feels like a hug. Bring alive what’s most personal with vivid detail. Show us how you feel the sensation of comfort in action or imagination. We look forward to basking in your contentments and to sharing your comfort with the Vocal community.
The Prizes:
- Grand Prize: $5,000
- Second Place: $1,000
- 10 Runners-Up: $100
How to enter
For your poem to be eligible, it should be between 100 and 2,000 words, submitted to the Poets Community, and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Poems published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until September 30, 2022, at 11:59 PM ET will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Get Comfortable Poetry Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.
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Challenge resources
Summer Solstice Challenge Winners
‘Safety Net’, by Meredith Harmon, begins in a confiding tone. ‘What town?’ the tale asks. ‘We're an enclave. We're farmers. We till the soil like our forefathers, and our children's children's children will till it, till the end of time.’ There is a folkloric sensibility here, suited to the prompt, but also something contemporary and practical. This winning story of a community trying to protect and preserve itself has echoes of Shirley Jackson’s famous tale ‘The Lottery’, Meredith is a strong Vocal Creator with 225 stories to her name; and this is her second first place win of a challenge; huge congratulations.
By Vocal Curation Team8 days ago in Resources
Let's Talk About AI and Vocal Challenges
We might as well cut to the chase. Yes, we run every challenge entry through our AI detector; if we find an entry has been generated, it’s disqualified. As Justin Maury, Founder/CEO of Vocal has written, we use these detection systems because we know our readers enjoy authentic content; we also ask you to disclose when you’ve posted on the platform using AI assistance. But a different issue comes into play when we’re thinking about Challenges, and we believe it’s an important one.
By Vocal Curation Team11 days ago in Resources
Dialogue Poetry Challenge Winners
Hannah Moore is a first-time grand prize winner with her dialogue poem, On Receipt of Bad News. This was a poem that genuinely engaged both with the exchange of our prompt, but also focussed on the way poetic rhythms of language could support the writer's conceit. It felt very truthful, too, the way one speaker wishes to ignore the news and focus on practicalities; there was a quiet heartbreak, here. Well done.
By Vocal Curation Team15 days ago in Resources