In the latest e-mail edition of The Goreletter (#4.03), I held two cool contests for subscribers and the results are now in.
First up was the “Corpse Contest,” sponsored by Jim Minton, the producer of Exquisite Corpse, with a free DVD version of the film as a prize. This contest asked readers to write a poem, eleven lines or less, about horror cinema. The only catch was that the words ‘exquisite’ and ‘corpse’ had to appear somewhere in the poem and the final two lines had to rhyme. A lot of great creative entries came in for this one, and Jim has kindly tossed in an extra DVD so that TWO entrants can win! Here they are:
1st Place Winner
IN CONSIDERATION OF MR. BIRD
by James C. Wardlaw
The organist coaxed screams and crescendos from the pipes.
The movie projector cast the flickering images of a corpse
dressed in a black tuxedo.
He rested on the park bench, hands folded on his chest
while ravens pecked at the sinkholes that served him for eyes.
The audience gazed at the staccato pictures in black and white,
wondering just what the hell would happen next.
Those black birds pulled out chunks with veritable haste.
It was a study in exquisite poor taste.
***
2nd Place winner
BLOOD PORTRAIT
by James S. Dorr
Exquisite,
Max Schreck —
his name even meant “fear” —
lurking corpse-silent through
Nosferatu,
no gentleman vampire he,
Bela Lugosi,
but claw and breath
drenching death.
***
I loved everyone’s poems, but these two did the best job with imagery and formal line construction. Congratulations to Mr. Dorr and Mr. Wardlaw — they’re both getting a copy of the otherwise unattainable DVD, Exquisite Corpse!
The second contest was a trivia contest — a random draw of people who sent me an e-mail message with the name of my first website in it. The winner was Jeff Strand, who remembered my old website was called, “Arnzen’s Arbor Vitae,” from the mid-to-late 1990s. Congratulations, Jeff! You won a rare broadside of my poem, “Six Short Films About Chauncey The Serial Killer” and an advanced demo of my upcoming CD, Audiovile!
I run contests often in The Goreletter…all you have to do is subscribe if you don’t want to miss the chance to win.