2020 Spring Contest Winners: Traditional Form – Triolet: Honorable Mentions and Judge’s Comments

Judged by Marc Janssen

1st Honorable Mention: “Pale Ring” by Charles Castle

2nd Honorable Mention:” Here and Gone” by Jim Johnson

3rd Honorable Mention: “Leaf Ballet” by Emory D. Jones

The triolet is a cousin to the rondeau, a French invention and one that was popular in the seventeenth century. The requirements to write a triolet are in the repeated lines and rhyme scheme. Though there is no syllable limit or prescribed meter, I found myself drawn to those poems that used both well, it just seemed to be very natural to build rhythm within the repeated line scheme.

All of the poems I read were well thought out, planned and executed. I very much admire the ability to create within these guidelines and many poets make writing triolets look a lot easier than it actually is. I appreciate the efforts of the all the poets who submitted poems.

I found the honorable mentions appealing, musical and well thought out. Both “Pale Ring” and “Leaf Ballet” communicate an interesting image. “Here and Gone” explored well the sadness of losing a friend to dementia.

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