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Villanelle
Write a villanelle poem that adheres to the form's traditional rhyme scheme.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Dec 14, 2023
Submissions closed
Dec 29, 2023 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Jan 11, 2024
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Dec 14, 2023
Submissions closed
Dec 29, 2023 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Jan 11, 2024
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a villanelle poem that adheres to the traditional rhyme scheme: ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA.
A villanelle is a 19-line poetic form consisting of five tercets (three-line stanzas) followed by a concluding quatrain (four-line stanza). The unique feature of a villanelle is its strict rhyme pattern, where the first and third lines of the opening tercet are alternately repeated as the final lines of the following tercets and then collectively appear as the last two lines of the poem. It follows this pattern: ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA. You can learn more about the form here.
Experiment with the repetition of lines to create a rhythmic and cohesive flow within the structure. The form's rhyming constraint offers a chance to explore creative storytelling while adhering to a set pattern. The interplay of repetition and variation constructs a poem that is both disciplined and expressive.
Feel free to choose a theme that resonates with you, whether it be nature, personal experiences, or abstract concepts. The goal is to appreciate the balance between structure, intensity, and artistic expression that the villanelle form inspires.
In order for your submission to qualify, it must:
The Prizes
- Grand Prize: $500
- Second Place: $200
- 15 Runners-Up: $20
Special shout-out to Mike Singleton - Mikeydred, Lauren Elizabeth, Sonia Heidi Unruh, Dane BH, and J.M. Powell for suggesting this challenge idea in Share Your Ideas to Shape the Future of Vocal Challenges.
How to enter
For your poem to be eligible, it should be submitted to the Poets Community, and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Poems published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until December 28, 2023, at 11:59 PM ET will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Villanelle 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 Team10 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