Catena Rondo

Here's how to write a catena rondo:

• The poem is comprised of a variable number of quatrains (4-line stanza)
• Each quatrain has a rhyme pattern of AbbA
  • The capital letters mean the same word, a repeat.
  • Each stanza will have different repeated words (see sample poem)
• The second line of each quatrain is the first line of the next quatrain
• The final quatrain should repeat the first quatrain word for word
• There are no rules for meter, syllables, or subject matter. Just a lot of rhyming refrains.

A sample poem by Robert Lee Brewer titled Beware the Moon

𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒔

𝒐𝒓 𝒗𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒔.

𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕!

𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒔,

𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆

𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒆.

𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒔,

𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆.

𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒅

𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅,

𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆!

𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒅,

𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒅,

𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒔

𝒐𝒓 𝒗𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒔;

𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕!

• Login to your profile on our website and draft your poem.
• From the drop down under Prompts choose “#PenMuse-68″
• Attach a cover image for your story in LANDSCAPE with the dimensions: 1200px X 675px. Please use pixabay.com, pexels.com or unsplash.com to source lovely covers in jpg or png. In case your story has a cover of poor quality, is watermarked, or is a graphic image, it will delay the publishing process.
• Allow your story to be admin approved within 24-48 hours.
• If you wish to check syllables, then please click this syllable count here.

 Rules:

• The submitted poem must have a title (Keep it simple with no punctuation marks; all words more than 3 letters must be capitalised)
• There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit-though only the first submitted poem will be qualified for contention.
• Previously published or plagiarised works will not be considered for contention.
• Poems found to have been shared on another platform or blog before the declaration of results stand disqualified from the event, and the writer of such content stands to be disqualified for the next Penmancy event.
• AI-generated content will not be recognised nor highlighted nor mentioned during the result announcement.
• In case a poem is received after the submission deadline, it shall be considered as a guest entry and shall not qualify for the event.
• Entries that don’t follow rules will be published and shared on the page and group but are disqualified for winning.

Winning criteria:

• The winner will be chosen on the basis of the judges’ scores (out of 10)
  • creativity/content and originality, [12 points]
  • coherence of form and structure (harmony of words, presentation), [12 points]
  • clarity of imagery and language/grammar, [10 points]
  • emotional impact, [10 points]
  • topic/relevance to the theme, [6 points]
• The entries adjudged through this process shall be binding. No scores will be shared with the participants.
• The entries adjudged by a panel of judges and event organisers shall be binding. Judges’ scores to be deemed final and may not be contested. Final scores are not disclosed to the participants.
• All writers are required to read and comment on 5 poems other than their own and encourage their fellow writers with valuable and constructive inputs. Comments like “nice”, “good work”, “brilliant piece”, etc. do not provide the necessary critique and are not helpful for anyone.

Timelines:

• The last date of submission is November 20, 2024
• Winners shall be announced on November 27, 2024
• The announcement of winners may be postponed or preponed depending on the number of entries received.

P.s.-The event does not have any book giveaway associated with it.