If Shakespeare were to rise from the dead and be plunked down in, say, San
Jose next week, what would he write? Dramas of Silicon Valley intrigue, no
doubt — but also poetry.
Readers are invited to create up to three rhyming couplets of iambic pentameter
that celebrate a modern appliance, convenience or contrivance. A couplet is two lines of poetry; iambic pentameter is a metric scheme in which each line consists of 10 syllables in five “feet” — primarily iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one), though occasional variations may be introduced.
E X A M P L E
The milk, the bread, the yams wrapped tight in foil/All kept from spoiling by your wondrous coils.
R U L E S
Send your submissions via e-mail only to salon21st@salon.com. Please include your full name and an accurate e-mail address so we can contact you if you’re a winner. By submitting your entry you give Salon Technology permission to publish it. Deadline for entries is March 6, 2000.
P R I Z E S
The winning response will receive a copy of Salon Technology senior correspondent Andrew Leonard’s book, “Bots: The Origin of New Species.”
In two weeks we’ll publish a winner and some selected entries — then start over a couple of weeks after that with a whole new challenge.
