The weather’s changing, the clock hands have been struck back an hour, and the winter darkness is upon us. But there’s a bright spot on the horizon: MAR has extended the deadlines for the Sherwood Anderson Fiction Award and the James Wright Poetry Award until November 15.
That’s right – you still have some precious time remaining to submit to these two contests. With a $1,000 prize + publication in each category, and with Alissa Nutting judging fiction and Oliver de la Paz judging poetry this year, you don’t want to miss out. The entry fee is only $10 (hey, compare it to other contests — $10 for a $1,000 prize is not too shabby) for each story up to 6,000 words or up to three poems. So learn more here and enter now!
It’s time, friends. When lines line “shimmering rainbow mane” and “shining technicolor pony” appear on the blog, you know what’s coming. Pure magic. Today, we post our final winning entry in the My Little Pony Writing Contest:”Unicorn Hunters” by Kara Krewer.
Unicorn Hunters
More messages this morning:
We are looking for a third
we are looking to complete our
mystical unicorn triad…
But I have no horn,
no spiral, wound-healing magic.
But you are a pretty little filly
we like your shimmering rainbow mane
how the twilight sparkles in your horsefeathers
But I do not pony up
I do not canter
for all the boys and girls.
Yes, I like oats and sugar cubes both,
but I am ambivalent about virgins.
We would let you run along the beach
at sunset and we could sell your pictures
to those companies that make folders
But I swear I do not see it—
I look in the mirror and see no magic,
only the earthbound.
But it’s our dream to share our love
with another woman
Listen: no part of me flutters
for you and I’ve got no saddle, no room for a rider.
I am a singular short beast,
one shining technicolor pony
hiking the crystal path,
and even if I had some harmony to bring
it would not be for you.
Kara Krewer
Kara Krewer grew up on an southwest Georgia.
She is currently an MFA candidate in poetry at
Purdue University, where she is editor-in-chief
of theSycamore Review. Her work has most
recently appeared in The Georgia Review.
Don’t let the magic fizzle — check out our other esteemed My Little Pony Writing Contest winners:
At AWP 2014 in Seattle, amidst the star-studded panels and readings, one event stood out from the pack as the most magical. That’s right, folks. We’re talking about the MAR My Little Pony Writing Contest.
The challenge was simple: write a poem or flash fiction piece somehow celebrating the magic of My Little Pony. From a herd of pony entries, four winners emerged. Today, we’re pleased to publish the first of the winners: “Friendship Is Magic” by Marci Rae Johnson.
Friendship Is Magic
This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a specific audience. (November 2013) – My Little Pony, Wikipedia
You are all my very best friends, you cutie pies you pink and purple lovelies I have kept in the original packaging until the day I need you most, until the day the stars fly out of the sky and I can’t stop crying with the one eye remaining, the other having already been given to the Friends of the End of the World. You my sugar cubes, my rainbow brood, each with a sign that makes you unique, the mark of the beast the pony, the unicorn that remains after the flood made everything new. It doesn’t matter anymore what your sin, it’s all afire O the Grand Gala, the Pink Gala where everything you eat is sweet.
Put the sugar in your mouth, O taste and see. The magic
makes it all complete.
Marci Rae Johnson
Marci Rae Johnson teaches English at Valparaiso University, where she serves as Poetry Editor for The Cresset. She is also the Poetry Editor for WordFarm press. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in The Collagist, Quiddity, Hobart, Redivider, Redactions, The Louisville Review, The Christian Century, and 32 Poems, among others. Her first collection of poetry won the Powder Horn Prize and was published by Sage Hill Press in 2013.
The magic will continue when three more winners are revealed in the coming weeks. *sparkle*
The weather’s changing, the clock hands have been struck back an hour, and the winter darkness is upon us. But there’s a bright spot on the horizon: MAR has extended the deadlines for the Sherwood Anderson Fiction Award and the James Wright Poetry Award until November 15.
