Theme: Dream Poetry
This contest is very special to the Wingless Dreamer team as it highlights our ethos as a publisher. We want you to chase your dreams and help you make them come true. Often, dreams reveal something deeply personal about us because they bring up suppressed emotions that have been buried deep inside our hearts. Give them a chance to come to the surface and create poetry with them. Use the powerful messages from your subconscious to understand yourself and your motivations better.
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Inspirational, intense, dreamy, moving, magical, profound, vivid, funny, dark, frightening, or horrifying is what we are looking for in this contest. Feel free to get creative and use the prompt to your own liking. You can take it either in the figurative sense or the literal sense. We are accepting pieces that address your life goals as well as the dreams that you have at night. Through this contest, you can learn more about your feelings, values, and beliefs. Craft your own dream world in your poem. Tell us about your dream life, your dream job, partner, and friendship. Write a poem that motivates you and others to follow their dreams.
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Our Dream Poetry contest is a great opportunity for you to look deeper and inspire others. Let’s create collective energy and join our dreams together in order to shine our light in the dark. We are looking forward to reading your submissions.
Judging Criteria:
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Uniqueness – 50%
Creativity/Style and Originality – 30%
The coherence of form and structure (harmony of words, presentation) – 10%
Clarity of imagery and language – 10% => TOTAL – 100%
Judging panel:
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Marie Hennemann
Marie Hennemann (she/her) is based on the West Coast of Ireland. Currently, she is working as an intern editor at Wingless Dreamer as part of her undergrad studies in English at NUI Galway. She enjoys engaging with literature because language makes us reflect on who we are and encourages us to open doors to other worlds. Her favourite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and she particularly loves Victorian literature. When she is not reading, she enjoys going for beach walks and watching sunsets.
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Ruchi Acharya
Ruchi Acharya is the Founder and CEO of the Wingless Dreamer Publisher. She is an Oxford University Summer Graduate in English Literature. She has been a contributor to multiple publishing platforms and won several awards for her exemplary work in creative writing. She believes emotions expressed in poetry can be heard everywhere, from all voices. She is devoted to publishing literary works reflecting the entirety of multiple perspectives and varied experiences extracted from the deep well of soulful human existence. At its core, the human spirit desires connections through expressions. Her ultimate goal is to give wings to these heartfelt dreams. As of 2022, she resides in Chennai, India enjoying the coconut water, palm trees, sandy beaches and sunkisses.
“All worries are less with wine” – Ruchi Acharya, Wingless Dreamer Founder
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Reward:
The certificates will be provided to the winner and top finalists. All the selected participants’ poems will get published in our upcoming anthology which will be available on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Nobles, and Walmart among other reading platforms. All the published contributors’ names will be mentioned on our website.
Rules and Guidelines:
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All entries are judged anonymously and the poet’s name must not appear on the poem itself.
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All poems must have a title and must not exceed 40 lines in length (excluding title).
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The participant must be 18 years old or above at the time of submitting the work with us.
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Poems must be in English. One poem per poet.
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Poems must be the entrant’s original work.
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Entries must not have been published, self-published, published on a website, or made public on social media, broadcast, or featured among the winners in another competition.
July 8, 2022 | Wingless Dreamer | Announcements
I Have a Dream: The wait is finally over. First of all, we are very grateful to all submitters for handing in their work and trusting us with their most personal dreams. We truly appreciate everyone’s writing and are blown away by the quality and depth of your pieces. After careful consideration and discussion, our judging panel has come to a decision. Whether you are a winner or not: everyone has delivered incredible poems that made it extremely difficult for us to come to a final decision.
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Especially considering this contest’s theme, I would like to take the time here to congratulate everyone who submitted their work and encourage them to never give up on their dreams.
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-Marie Hennemann, Editor
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Now, without any further ado. Let’s announce the winner.
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The grand winner of the I Have a Dream Poetry Contest 2022 is:
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CHRISTINE OWENS – BETWEEN ARTIST AND NATURE
Christine Owens is an art curriculum developer and instructor at Murphy Learning Center in Texas. She is a member of SCBWI, the Mockingbird Poetry Society and the Poetry Society of Texas. She won the 2nd place award in the 49th annual Collin County poetry competition in 2020, and 3rd place award in the 50th annual Collin County poetry competition in 2021. Her poem “Corroded Voices” was published in A Tribute to Lord Byron, a poetry collection by Wingless Dreamer in 2021. Her poem “The Stage of Ecdysis” was awarded 1st place and published in The Book Of Black, a dark poetry anthology by Wingless Dreamer in 2021. Follow her on Instagram @christine_made_this
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The first runner-up is:
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PAMELA DENYES – SAFE IN MY RUNNING
Pamela’s award-winning poems are published in several Virginia writers’ journals, Wingless Dreamer, Barstow & Grand V, several international collections by The Poet Magazine, Vallum Poetry and more. Her first two poetry books, The Right Mistakes and The Widow’s Lovers, will be published in 2022 by Kelsay Books. Pamela’s career-based writing included contract nonfiction, developmental editing, and online/print writing. Now retired, she’s harvesting forty years of personal journals to create new works—and fun! www.pbdenyes.com
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The second runner-up is:
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SAHEB SK – SQUALL or (THE STORMY NIGHT)
Mr. Saheb Sk is a visionary persona who has completed his Graduation in English Literature from University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India in the year 2018. He is currently pursuing Masters in English Literature & language from NSOU (one of the top reputed university in Indian Subcontinent). Mr. Saheb has also completed Diplomas in Geospatial Application in Disaster Risk Management, GIS & Supply Chain Management from Indian Space Research Organization (Govt. of India) Mr. Saheb has also participated in various national & international conferences & Workshops Some of them are “International Conference on Business Research and Innovation”, by MDI M Workshop on “Tips and Tricks on Writing Story Plots” organised by TESOL Society of Bangladesh, Bangladesh. Workshop on “Masterclass on Next-gen Digital Marketing Techniques” by ANTWAK.com, etc. Mr. Saheb has composed more than 25 poems & 5 short stories which are the blend of Classical and modern thoughts. His broad research interests include the Growth & Structure of American English, Globalisation of English language, a view towards Greek and Roman Mythology and the influence upon the classical authors, Classicism in the writings of Renaissance & Romantic Authors. Modernism and its effects on the contemporary literature & culture, etc. SAHEB SK Email: sahebsheik0110@gmail.com
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A huge round of applause for our top finalists:
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AMIKA CARUSO – DAYDREAM EYES
Amika Caruso is a 23 year old woman from interior British Columbia. Raised in the mountains, she cherishes the pleasures of solitude and nature for their endless inspiration. She has been filling journals with romantic language since childhood, writing nearly as many pages as she reads. Caruso’s first collection of poetry, She Remains, is due to be published at the end of 2022. She is currently studying for her BA in English while living in the small island town of Ucluelet B.C, meaning “people with a safe place to land”, on the traditional territory of the YuuÅ‚uÊ”iÅ‚Ê”atḥ.
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VISHAAL PATHAK – DREAMCATCHER
Vishaal is a writer based in India. He writes short stories and poems.
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HARVEY HUMPHREY – I DREAM OF QUEER REPRESENTATION
Harvey Humphrey (they/them) is trying to be some kind of activist-academic (they want to try to change the world through language). They are a queer, trans, non-binary disabled person living in Glasgow. They have a PhD in sociology on trans and intersex activism. Their academic work and their poems explore the everyday, relationships and bodies (specifically relating to queer, trans and disability experiences). Their favourite food is ice cream. Twitter: @rharveyhumphrey
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STEVE GERSON – BENEATH THE SEA’S SWELL THE PSYCHE
Steve Gerson writes poetry and flash about life’s dissonance. He’s proud to have published in Panoplyzine, Route 7, Poets Reading the News, Crack the Spine, the Decadent Review, Underwood Press, Dillydoun Review, In Parentheses, Vermilion, and more, plus his chapbook Once Planed Straight: Poetry of the Prairies from Spartan Press.
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A huge round of applause for our contributors: