Poetry Prompt: The Ghost of the Past

Summary

iPoetry and Paper Poetry are collaborating on a "The Ghost of the Past" poetry prompt for the month of October, inviting writers to explore themes of nostalgia, closure, and the paranormal in free verse or prose poetry, with submissions eligible for recognition and rewards.

Abstract

In celebration of the autumn season and the new beginnings it represents, two Medium poetry publications, iPoetry and Paper Poetry, have joined forces to launch a collaborative writing prompt titled "The Ghost of the Past." This initiative encourages writers to delve into personal or imaginative narratives that reflect on past experiences, unresolved stories, or supernatural encounters. Participants are free to choose their poetic form, whether free verse or prose poetry, and there is no specific word count requirement. To be considered, poets must include the kicker "iPoetry-Paper Poetry Prompt" and

A collaboration between iPoetry and Paper Poetry

Image created by the author

October is almost here and, with it, we get the promise of a beautiful autumn. Some people find this time of the year to be kind of sad but, personally, it is my favorite season, for it brings the promise of new beginnings.

It is in this spirit that Paper Poetry and iPoetry have decided to come together for a collaboration prompt! Thank you to Suntonu Bhadra for coming up with the idea of having our publications work together.

Now, here’s what you need to know to be part of this prompt:

The prompt is The Ghost of the Past. Feel free to use it in any way you see fit. Maybe you want to write about lost love or lost self. Or perhaps there’s a story in your life that didn’t get proper closure and never will — okay, I’m projecting here. Or maybe you have some paranormal story to tell and want to tackle the challenge of a narrative poem. You have my permission to go crazy here.

You can write free verse or prose poetry.

There’s no specific word count.

Add the kicker ‘iPoetry-Paper Poetry Prompt.’ If you don’t know how to add a kicker, please read this article.

Add the tags “‘The Ghost of the Past” and “Poetry. ” We leave the rest of the tags up to you.

You can submit one poem per writer per publication. However, feel free to keep submitting under other topics as usual.

You can invite other writers to take part in the prompt by tagging them but, keeping with Medium guidelines, we suggest not overdoing it. Please limit it to 2 writers at max.

The prompt will run from October 1–31, 2021. The last day to submit a poem is October 30, 2021.

Each publication will select one winner from the submitted content based on their submission guidelines and content quality. There will also be three honorable mentions. Each winner will receive a digital recognition certificate and a small token of appreciation that will be sent to the writer (make sure to have a PayPal account).

If you have any comments or questions, please, leave a response here or send an email to [email protected]

The iPoetry editorial team — Lindsay Soberano-Wilson, Anthony O'Dugan, and myself — is really looking forward to reading all of your work.

The winners will be announced by the 2nd week of November.

You can check Paper Poetry announcement here.

***Disclaimer: Publication editors of ‘iPoetry’ and ‘Paper Poetry’ can submit their work to the prompt but are ineligible to win it. Respective editors of iPoetry and Paper Poetry will have their full discretion to review the submitted contents and announce the winners.