1st place: David Lewis Paget: Myth maker:
Halloween might just be my very favorite holiday. It's creepy and fun, fueled by sugar and imagination. In other words, it's right up my alley! So, when I was invited to help judge the 2017 Spoken Word Halloween Contest for Pandora's Box of Horrors, I jumped at the chance.
And here's our winner!
David Lewis Paget's "Mythmaker" won "for form and literary structure, for spoken word delivery, scare factor, and for the “totality” of the tale. Judges agreed it had great story appeal, a satisfying completeness of the story, and a well resolved dénouement."
David was kind enough to answer a few questions about his work for me.
Tell me a little about you as a writer: I began to write back in 1966, mainly short stories, but then poetry. I do remember that a love of language was involved, and I was most impressed by some of the Lennon/McCartney lyrics of the time such as, "she kept her face in a jar by the door." They had a surreal ability to open whole new vistas of thought.... "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" etc. I was educated in England, so my exposure was to the old English Poets like Blake, Coleridge, etc. who all wrote in rhyme and metre. I was determined to master rhyme and metre right from the beginning, and refused to go the way of free form, which I always considered to be the lazy way out.
I wrote interpersonal poetry for the first thirty odd years, until I was convinced that I'd eventually meet myself coming back, or begin to repeat myself, which I didn't want to do, Then fortuitously I took a teaching job in China for a year, and was exposed to Chinese Folk Lore which fascinated me. I came to the conclusion that the only poetry that really survives is that which tells a story, so I began to write in a narrative sense. Since then I have written well over 1,000 narratives, which takes my total output to over 1400 poems. I publish through Lulu.com and have seventeen books of poetry available there, for those who would like to check them out.
What was the inspiration for your piece for this contest? The 'Myth Maker' is merely just one of many Gothic Type themes that I've played with over time. I like to wander across a landscape that exists outside what we might describe as 'normal,' where the most improbable things happen to the most improper people. I was a very early fan of Edgar Allan Poe, having gorged on his 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' at the age of eleven, when my father pointed it out to me on his bookshelf. That experience captured me for life, and I attempt to continue Poe's experimental works in my own style of Gothic Narrative Poetry. As a horror story, I think the Myth Maker hits the spot.
Where else can our readers learn about you and your work? All my poetry is posted onto the timeline of my Facebook Page, as a link to the actual work on WritersCafe.org. I usually post to about 15 different sites, so as to try and gain as wide a readership as possible. So you may befriend me on Facebook, or on WritersCafe to view my work. On Facebook I only accept friend requests from people whose own pages reflect an interest in poetry or literature of some kind. But I usually accept all requests from people on WritersCafe. I hold a monthly reading over Gulf FM 89.3 which is streamed, and may be heard anywhere in the world.This is on the last Wednesday of each month between 12.30 - 1.00pm South Australian time. It's part of the Copper Coast Writers Program.
I also have a number of video readings on youtube, and some audio readings on Soundcloud. Just google my name on those sites to bring them up. In addition, Jeanette Leone Skirvin has collaborated with me on recording some of my poetry as videos, and are certainly worth a look. All on youtube.
David Lewis Paget's "Mythmaker" won "for form and literary structure, for spoken word delivery, scare factor, and for the “totality” of the tale. Judges agreed it had great story appeal, a satisfying completeness of the story, and a well resolved dénouement."
David was kind enough to answer a few questions about his work for me.
Tell me a little about you as a writer: I began to write back in 1966, mainly short stories, but then poetry. I do remember that a love of language was involved, and I was most impressed by some of the Lennon/McCartney lyrics of the time such as, "she kept her face in a jar by the door." They had a surreal ability to open whole new vistas of thought.... "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" etc. I was educated in England, so my exposure was to the old English Poets like Blake, Coleridge, etc. who all wrote in rhyme and metre. I was determined to master rhyme and metre right from the beginning, and refused to go the way of free form, which I always considered to be the lazy way out.
I wrote interpersonal poetry for the first thirty odd years, until I was convinced that I'd eventually meet myself coming back, or begin to repeat myself, which I didn't want to do, Then fortuitously I took a teaching job in China for a year, and was exposed to Chinese Folk Lore which fascinated me. I came to the conclusion that the only poetry that really survives is that which tells a story, so I began to write in a narrative sense. Since then I have written well over 1,000 narratives, which takes my total output to over 1400 poems. I publish through Lulu.com and have seventeen books of poetry available there, for those who would like to check them out.
What was the inspiration for your piece for this contest? The 'Myth Maker' is merely just one of many Gothic Type themes that I've played with over time. I like to wander across a landscape that exists outside what we might describe as 'normal,' where the most improbable things happen to the most improper people. I was a very early fan of Edgar Allan Poe, having gorged on his 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' at the age of eleven, when my father pointed it out to me on his bookshelf. That experience captured me for life, and I attempt to continue Poe's experimental works in my own style of Gothic Narrative Poetry. As a horror story, I think the Myth Maker hits the spot.
Where else can our readers learn about you and your work? All my poetry is posted onto the timeline of my Facebook Page, as a link to the actual work on WritersCafe.org. I usually post to about 15 different sites, so as to try and gain as wide a readership as possible. So you may befriend me on Facebook, or on WritersCafe to view my work. On Facebook I only accept friend requests from people whose own pages reflect an interest in poetry or literature of some kind. But I usually accept all requests from people on WritersCafe. I hold a monthly reading over Gulf FM 89.3 which is streamed, and may be heard anywhere in the world.This is on the last Wednesday of each month between 12.30 - 1.00pm South Australian time. It's part of the Copper Coast Writers Program.
I also have a number of video readings on youtube, and some audio readings on Soundcloud. Just google my name on those sites to bring them up. In addition, Jeanette Leone Skirvin has collaborated with me on recording some of my poetry as videos, and are certainly worth a look. All on youtube.
pure drivel by a sycophantic poseur
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