CombatVerse!

Newsfeed Subscribers, CombatVerse is Moving to CombatWords

2010-02-14T00:32:00.000-08:00

Not enough critical mass here and I'm impatient. Anyhow, by moving to CombatWords, you can now battle all writers--not just poets.

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Moving Traffic to combatwords.blogspot.com

2010-02-12T14:14:00.001-08:00

Based off web hits, there was equal curiosity for combatprose and combatverse at first, but there's not much traction for either. I think it would make more sense to migrate both to http://combatwords.blogspot.com to make things more lively. Also, categories are restrictive.

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Okay, since this place is dead compared to combatprose

2010-02-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd offer a slightly different challenge: defeat Today's News Poem.

Victory conditions are variable: you could riff-off it (no rewrites--that's some lazy shit right there) or you could just outdo it. So here's the news poem: I'll see if anyone wants to enter the kumate arena.

War by Wires and Liars

No, atoms aren't the only building block
Requiring nuclear-force to bind what seeks
To free itself. Take enterprise and stock:
Those rogues—like particles— need wise techniques
To bind what otherwise would break—subvert—
Conjoined alliance. Murder's still a crime
So bind them tight with lies and let covert
And able agents sway the greedy slime:
So war becomes a suicide. And wealth?
That war by other means. With trade, the way
To kill is starve the foreigner by stealth,
And take his land, her kids: they're simply prey—
A profit center needs the casualties.
Without the gore—no war PTSDs.

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A different approach, Feb 11, 2010

2010-02-11T01:51:00.000-08:00

I'm in the mood for some Mexico City Blues. I'm also in the mood for Godzilla and some wargames. So, here's my thought: the first poster on this thread can take any poem from Mexico City Blues and riff off it any way s/he chooses (but cite the inspiration). Challengers must write a riff off the same poem. Then the challenger gets to pick. By then, a mob should have formed and if they are here, the mob may choose the final poem.

Mob: please score poems with one to three stars. Then we'll tally the score and declare the champ. Come on! Let's see if we can finally get some bloodsport in here.

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Canned Combat, Feb 9, 2010

2010-02-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

It's early, but here's today's canned combat:

-trochaic quadrameter
-any rhyme scheme, but no blank verse
-Any ol' topic. Let's see you folks warm up.

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Canned Topic

2010-02-08T01:07:00.000-08:00

A specific type of idiot. Just someone you can't stand. But let's see if you get anywhere with the verse: can you do more than obsess over the thing you hate? I'm not going to write verse here: you know I can do it. I want to see if you can do it.

You're not going to get stronger by being chicken. Let's see some kombat!

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Feb 7, 2010 CombatVerse!

2010-02-07T01:46:00.001-08:00

Whose cuisine shall reign supreme?

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The Rules for CombatVerse!

2010-02-07T01:45:00.000-08:00

1) Challenger picks time and tempo between posts.
2) Defender gets to pick meter and topic.
3) Challenger must then copy meter and stay on topic.
4) Scoring:
a) Points:
i) If there's meter, each time the meter is off, -1. Someone who completely ruins a line of scanning could lose -10 if she or he ruined all 10 beats.
ii) Every off-topic sentence, line, clause, or other unit of thought loses a point.
b) Gambits: Introduced conceits, symbols, narratives and turns of phrase are the only ones I can think of now. Each gambit is worth 10 points.
c) Audience: Audience members can use a single vote to add or subtract a point from a poem. This helps mitigate the objective metrics used for the game.
5) Time: Compositions are due at time. There is a 1 point deduction per minute the composition is late.

Not only is this a fun game that we used to play informally on craigslist litfo, but it will sharpen your chops too. Have fun!

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