As you all know by now, one of Daastan’s favorite things to do is to engage and encourage authors. We love to help writers showcase their talent through writing challenges and thematic campaigns. Daastan’s Blackout July challenge was in lieu of this intention.
What was the blackout July Challenge?
The name sounds strange right? But you will be surprised and intrigued once you find out what it is. Blackout poetry is when poets/writers use a piece of text and manipulate it into poetry. Words that carry potential meaning are outlined with a box made with a pen. The rest of the text is colored with a black marker to conceal it, hence the name “blackout”. New meaning is brought to stained old pieces of paper through this approach.
The challenge was a breath of fresh air as it was different from traditional poetry. Every writer was welcomed to participate, not just poetically inclined authors. The challenge was hosted in two cycles. First cycle lasted from the 11th to the 19th July, 2020 and the second cycle lasted from the 24th to the 31st of July.
A Flow of Entries
After the notice was put up on our social platforms, pieces from writers all around started flowing in. Since the possibilities are endless when it comes to language, all the entries were versatile and unique in their own limelight. We enjoyed all the entries and thank all those who participated.
Calling the Winner
We received a total of 20+ entries. Entries sent to Daastan were uploaded on our instagram page. The criteria for winning were set to the post with the most comments (on instagram). In this case the winner was Obien Mayo. Obien sent multiple entries. The bread winning article was about a dream and how the colors of a rainbow merge into one another.
As winning highly depended on the number of comments, friends supported friends through instagram. People cheered on their dear ones virtually.
People’s Response
People responded with an attitude for winning by submitting through Daastan. The challenge on a whole was a contemporary one. Our team at Daastan is always brainstorming fun and entrancing ways to raise the bar. We value when this turns out to be a two way effort by seeing an amazing response from the society.
Anticipating something challenging and stimulating? Join us today and be a part of the latest challenges and good reads.
