Summer 21 Poetry Contest

Summer 2021 is just around the corner and following the success of Summer 2020’s Writescape Postcard Story Contest, we’ve decided to run another contest this summer:  Summer 21 Poetry Contest.

Where I grew up, 21 was the age of majority, the day on which you were considered a fully-functioning adult. When I turned 21, I had the traditional big party bash and with appropriate speechifying and good wishes, I was presented with a large brass key – the key to the rest of my life.

Numbers have fascinated and affected people for centuries—superstitions, numerology, feng shui, important dates, rituals and traditions. From nature to metaphysics, gambling to currency to games, the number 21 can be found in all aspects of our lives.

21 Fun facts involving the number 21

• The total number of spots on a six-sided rolling die is 21.
• The most commonly recognized gun salute as a military honour is 21-gun salute.
• The English guinea, used as currency from 1663 to early 1800s, contained 21 shillings.
• The total number of Bitcoin to be released is 21 million
• Singer Adele released her album titled “21” in the year she turned 21.
• “The World” is the 21^st card in a Tarot deck, the final card of the Major Arcana.
• In WW1 Japan sent a list of 21 demands to China over the control of Manchuria.
• In the USA, the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, thereby ending prohibition.
• 21 is the atomic number of the rare-earth element scandium.
• 21 is a “triangular number” because it is the sum of the first six natural numbers (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 21) which when represented as dots on sequential lines forms a triangle of six dots each side.
• In the famous Fibonacci sequence, 21 is the 8^th number, lying between 13 and 34
• Points required to win a game of badminton is 21.
• According to physician Duncan MacDougal, who weighed patients just before and after death, the weight of the soul is 21 grams.
• The USA Food and Drug Administration’s Code of Federal Regulations is known as CFR Title 21.
• 21 is most often the date of the solstices and equinoxes. In 2021 the summer solstice or first day of summer is June 20.
• The Kurdistan flag features a sun in its center with 21 golden rays radiating from it.
• In the card game Blackjack, anything over 21 is a “bust.”
• Many song titles include 21 such as Alanis Morissette’s “21 Things I Want in a Lover”.
• Movies too: “21” (2008); “21 Grams” (2003) and “21 Jump Street” (2012)
• In Israel, an exemption from military service is known as a Profile 21.
• In numerology 21 is a number symbolizing inspiration and creative self-expression.

There are, of course, many other ways that 21 shows up in our lives: dates and times, sports shirts, temperature, and addresses ….. and this year 2021!

And what has that got to do with the contest…….?

Contest details

What: Compose a 21-line poem in any form, where the subject matter evokes some aspect of the number 21.

You can use the list above to spark your imagination, or come up with something entirely different.  Your poem does not have to actually contain the words “twenty-one”, although you are welcome to do so. The title is not considered one of the 21 lines.

Your poem must be in English and be your own original, unpublished work. By entering this contest you give us permission to publish your poem should it be one of the top three winners.

Deadline: Midnight, Wednesday, June 30, 2021 (12:00 midnight. EST)
Winner and runners up will be announced on July 21. 2021.

Prize: We’ll publish the winning poem and 2 runners-up here in Writescape’s The Top Drawer weekly blog, along with your bio and a friendly interview on what inspired your entry. Bragging rights!

Judges: Gwynn and Ruth. And we might invite one more judge to join us — someone to balance out the panel.

Who: Open to writers age 16 or up at any stage of the writing process: published, unpublished or in-between.

How to Submit: 

• by email to info@writescape.ca with your entry attached as a Word document (.doc or .docx) in 12 pt. MS font. (e.g. calibri, Arial, TNR)
• Email Subject Line: [Your last name] Summer 21 Poetry Contest
• As this is poetry, DO NOT DOUBLE SPACE. If your poem uses a format that includes specific spacing within lines, please also attach a PDF, so we can see how you want your poem to sit on the page.