Vocal’s A Hit With The Limerick

Extra, Extra! Read all about it. Vocal is a hit with the new challenge for a Ludicrous Limerick. Vocalists are having a blast!!!

Today I’m here to express the pleasure of fellow Vocalists who are overjoyed that Vocal heard our pleas and answered by saying, “Okay, give us a limerick now please!” What does Vocal actually call those of us who write on the platform anyway? I’m affectionately calling us “Vocalists” because, well, it just comes too easy.

Update: Thank you Keila Aartila for letting me know the official term is "Vocalites"! For the sake of this article I will keep the term Vocalists because it's still fun. In the future I'll be sure to use Vocalites.

Avoiding The Haiku

I previously wrote in my article, “How To Analyze A Haiku,” about how the string of Haiku Challenges provided many benefits to us writers. However, the mounting dismay and apathy for the same form of poetry for a challenge was wearing many Vocalists thin. A quick glance at the recent roster of Haiku challenges would make most heads spin:

• High-ku (November 10-16)
• Blue Haiku (December 4-16)
• Full Moon (December 20-January 5)
• Quadra-haiku (January 10-24)
• Uncommon (January 24-February 9)

Concerns, pros and cons were presented in elegant poetry, well-articulated articles and everything in-between. There was the original round of feedback from sleepy drafts in “Why Haiku?”, Mike Singleton in “Plague of Haiku”, and Scott Wade in “The Anarchy of a Haiku Challenge”. But then there was round two from Gal Mux in “About Haiku Challenges” and Mike Singleton in “My Haiku Issue.”

Now Vocal is showing us that there is power in numbers and our voices are heard. We are here on a platform called Vocal after all! So, Vocal ditched the Haiku for its almost complete opposite, the Limerick. Misty Rae’s “Inside The Vocal Boardroom” sums up what must have happened so nicely in a whimsical limerick.

Vocal Clapped Back With Three New Genres

Vocal is taking Vocalists on a rollercoaster ride of different genres. Instead of going home Vocal went big with not one, not two, but three new writing forms. Currently we are challenged with Magical Realism (coming to an end in a few hours of this writing), the Tall Tale and the Limerick.

It wasn’t just enough for Vocal to totally eradicate Haiku for the time being. Vocal did a 180 and gave fiction with a twist. They gave us an opening line that made us wonder, “Are you sure we shouldn’t be writing a lyric?” Next up, big stories in a small space. Writing a Tall Tail of personified animals is one we can embrace. Finally, poetry came back with style…and a witty one that can make us all smile! I do believe the magical beings that make up Vocal have a great sense of humor surrounding their verve for us becoming stronger writers. Now we get to talk about the absurdities of life in a less than romantic style.

How We Know Vocal Has Struck Literary Gold

The first telltale sign that Vocal has met our desire satisfactorily is that there is not a wave of articles, stories or poems showing disdain. Writers here have no problem stating exactly how they feel. Oftentimes it comes off in blunt, ranting writing. But other times we get splashed with humor and frivolity. But as of right now, all is quiet on the Western front. Don’t believe me? Just compare it to the list above concerning Haiku.

A second clue that Vocal has struck gold with the Limerick Challenge is there is not a plethora of people scratching their heads. I, for one, am a huge fan of the magical realism challenge, Under Purple Clouds. With a background in literature, magical realism is one of my favorite genres. A copy of Laura Esquivel’s Like Water For Chocolate is towards the top of one of my many stacks. But hoards of Vocalists had no clue what to do. As standard, Vocal gave the directions, prompt and definition too. However, it still left many dumbfounded. Articles like Novel Allen’s “Magical Realism? UMMM…” and Donna Renee’s “What the F is Magical Realism” became center stage on the Top Story page. Meanwhile, I was sitting behind my computer contemplating my days when a graduate classmate was crowned the Queen of Magical Realism by our professor all because she used the term one time—a moniker my classmate wanted to crawl up from under as fast as she could.

The third surefire way we know Vocal has hit the bullseye with the Limerick Challenge is the amount of Limericks being produced by entrants. I mean, seriously, we are just having fun. It seems my fellow Vocalists are thrilled to let their hair down, fool around with sound, and whip off their bras with a sigh of relief. Every time I log in to my Vocal account I have several notifications of a new Limerick published by someone I’m subscribed to. And before I log off, several more have been published, often by the same author. Limericks are really a blast. The Facebook group Vocal + Assist is buzzing with activity from these fun little ditties.

Even I couldn’t resist the sudden urge to chomp at the bit. And within minutes of seeing the challenge I just had to submit. So far I have entered two limericks. “High Anxiety” came first. Swiftly followed by “Husband and Wife,” a pure delight with double the spice.

Personal Thoughts

Personally, I think the Limerick Challenge came at a very needed time. Stress is running high in many Vocalists’ personal lives. We can all always use a good laugh as we traverse the earth in these meaty suits. There is the sentiment that if we could just win a challenge or two we could start to set our lives straight again, as expressed in articles like Naomi’s “I’m Entering Every Vocal Challenge for a Year.” It’s almost natural to spend money we don’t have in hand yet. For those like me who came to Vocal by way of the mega $25,000 jackpot Little Black Book Challenge, dreams of placing in a top spot still dance around in one’s head. Not only would it say to the world “I’ve Arrived,” but also it would be a nice boon to the Wallet while believing, “Hey, maybe as an artist I can survive!”

Honestly, the Limerick Challenge is one that I submitted to the fastest. Witty rhymes while showing a reader a good time is something I view as sublime. No more stuffy constraints to make words perfectly fit into a poetic form that demands so much more. Now there is what feels like so much latitude to express the thing we love to talk about the most, our everyday lives and what it means to be alive.

Fun Times At Vocal High

I’m enjoying seeing all the Vocalists lacing up their track shoes to take advantage of this historic moment. Vocal has heard our pleas and responded with a very proud, “Give us a limerick, please!”

Now we get to sit back and jest at all the foibles of our fellow Vocalists. Whether it is Cathy holmes in “A Purple Limerick” pondering what rhymes with “purple” or Donna Renee in “Bath Time for Baby” wondering “what is that smelly bubble?”

Thank you Vocal for providing a Challenge that brings a smile to my face and gets me laughing so hard I log off the platform with bellyaches!

Are You Game For $2,000?

Read My Limericks

My Initial Article About Haiku Challenges

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