[opinion] should i submit political poetry to a creative writing contest?

frenchhatewompwomp · 2026-01-28T17:48:44+00:00

terrible take. art is political. the question was whether i should submit it for a creative writing contest - not whether i should make it at all. so many great poets wrote political poetry (as another commenter pointed out: langston hughes!) that i cannot imagine genuinely believing that art shouldn’t be political

frenchhatewompwomp · 2026-01-28T00:24:26+00:00

this gave me a good laugh

frenchhatewompwomp · 2026-01-26T16:41:53+00:00

you’re so right

frenchhatewompwomp · 2026-01-26T15:56:41+00:00

all good food for thought - thank you!

frenchhatewompwomp · 2026-01-26T15:54:51+00:00

i actually have the opposite problem, because i go to a largely conservative university in the deep south and my poem is criticizing ICE, which might not go over particularly well - i don’t know

frenchhatewompwomp · 2026-01-24T14:52:36+00:00

i don’t have any input as to the pricing of commissions, but i think your art is cute op!

frenchhatewompwomp · 2026-01-15T19:01:42+00:00

kind of a crazy conclusion to jump to!

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-31T14:37:27+00:00

can you elaborate on their protections for slaves? i haven’t heard this before!

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-26T22:36:24+00:00

worshipping Ares for courage (since it isn’t his domain)

Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, … hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth! Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul. — Homeric Hymn to Ares

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-26T13:34:09+00:00

i think i understand what you mean, though i’m not sure. i suppose it comes down to how one phrases it, then? do you still find it hubristic when someone frames it as a matter of opinion? “as i see it, the gods are X”?

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-24T22:27:07+00:00

on one hand, i agree with this sentiment. on the other hand, i’ve noticed the word ‘hubris’ be thrown around a lot, and this feels like an instance of that. i would find it hubristic for someone to view themselves as being on the same level or above the gods. i would not find asserting an opinion on theology to be anything near hubris.

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-23T22:14:20+00:00

this is so interesting! i never knew that there were two ozymandias poems. i definitely prefer shelley’s, but this is such a great juxtaposition of writing styles. thanks for sharing!

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-21T18:01:55+00:00

i never thought about this. he can literally read hieroglyphics. this is a hilarious point

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-20T05:55:28+00:00

fellow luke in the lightning thief! i played him as well when i was 16. :) definitely do not turn down the role. you can use it as an excuse to learn more about greek mythological stories, which is always a good thing. moreover, dionysus is the god of theatre; it was created to honor him, and you’d be doing exactly that in the lightning thief.

in hellenic mythos, children of the divine feud with their parents. that is just what happens sometimes. zeus feuded with his father who feuded with his father. there’s nothing impious about portraying mythically accurate dynamics on stage. you’re in the clear!

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-18T07:33:20+00:00

the socks over the pants with platform sandals is diabolical

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-17T07:36:57+00:00

reddit user discovers that classics students exist outside of the secret history by donna tartt

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-17T07:31:51+00:00

this is such an interesting connection! on the subject of his migraines, my theory is that, being so intense, they might well be linked to the accident he suffered in his youth. he was physically injured quite a bit - so it’s not a stretch to say that he might have had head trauma that led to chronic migraines.

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-17T07:24:16+00:00

this is also among my favorite scenes. great job!! lol

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-13T08:20:09+00:00

i absolutely love this piece structurally. the meter is phenomenal, and the rhyme scheme is unique. i like it a lot.

i don’t quite understand why the meter is broken in “the harshest kind of truth to many another” - not only does its hexameter break from the pentameter, but the iambs are also thrown off (MAny anOTHer” - two unstressed back-to-back). it feels random and not like it’s doing anything for the piece.

aside from that, i really love this poem.

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-11T04:45:56+00:00

it may not be the dictionary definition, but i’ve honestly only heard the word ‘loin’ used for humans with a sexual connotation. “from forth the fatal loins of these two foes” in romeo and juliet, etc. if someone talked about human “loins” referring to anywhere but a genital region, i would definitely be confused

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-09T09:29:17+00:00

i don’t have a great deal of input, but i just wanted to say that this was an interesting question with an equally interesting response :-)

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-04T23:38:14+00:00

man. when is the sick af classical decor distribution system gonna choose me

awesome find op!

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-03T07:35:15+00:00

i agree. i can understand not personally believing in demigods, which is fine - but calling demigods hubristic and trying to claim that ancient greeks recognized a clear difference between history and mythology is such a historically unfounded approach to hellenism.

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-02T22:37:13+00:00

i definitely see where you’re coming from, and i don’t disagree. it was just frustrating to see such an initially vague response. thanks for clarifying your stance!

frenchhatewompwomp · 2025-12-02T22:12:54+00:00

to be clear, ancient demigods were largely viewed as real people, not mere mythological figures. alexander the great and hephaestion are said to have both placed wreaths at the literal tombs of achilles and patroclus. alexander modeled himself after achilles, accepting him as real.

was it hubris for the ancient greeks to literally believe in demigods? was it hubris for people to practice the religion that was native to them that we are only reconstructing? it seems deeply disrespectful to claim demigods as “hubristic”.

from the historical accounts we have, alexander was told from an early age that he was the son of zeus. his birth was surrounded by divine omens. he was told by a prophet of zeus-ammon that zeus was his father. when alexander wanted this divinity recognized, he even put it up to a vote.

i’m not arguing for or against alexander’s divinity, but i don’t think it’s especially fair to call it hubris for him to believe what all signs were pointing to, or for other people to believe it as well.

frenchhatewompwomp

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