The Mile High Writers’ Workshop is pleased to announce the opening of the First Entwine© Writing Contest, a juried writing competition honoring disciplined creativity, historical attentiveness, and the art of poetic weaving.

This is a contest for writers who love language; and who are willing to do something rare with it: Work with inherited words instead of escaping them.

This contest invites poets to demonstrate craft, restraint, and depth by integrating a complete public-domain text into an original poem without altering the source.

This is not adaptation.
This is not parody (by default).
This is craft; intended to deepen the backstory, expand emotional context, and connect the sensibilities of the past to the social footing of the present.

Contest Prelude; Defining the Entwine Form

An Entwine is a poetic form in which a complete, recognized public-domain or historic foundational text (nursery rhymes, hymns, prayers, famous quotes, pledges or chants) is fully integrated into an original poem.

Every word of the foundational text must be preserved, used once, and appear in its original sequence. The poet does not revise, summarize, or relocate the source text; instead, the original language is woven directly into new verse that expands its emotional, intellectual, or historical resonance.

The result is a single unified poem; one voice speaking across time, connecting past with present.

The foundational text must live inside the poem, not beside it.

Constraint is not the limitation; it is the engine.

The intention of the Entwine© form is to preserve inherited language across the breadth of our lives. These foundational texts that shaped our earliest understanding; still have something to contribute across ages, across genders, and across cultures. The Entwine© provides the framework through which this preservation can be carried forward, author by author.

What an Entwine© Is Not

To ensure clarity, an Entwine is not:
• A remix that alters the original wording
• A poem that places the source text before or after the new work
• A commentary or annotation disguised as verse
• A parody or satire by default
• A poem that merely quotes or references the foundational text

The original language must be structurally integrated and inseparable from the poem itself.

Illustrative Example

The excerpt below is provided to demonstrate how an Entwine functions in practice. It is offered for clarity of form, not as a template to imitate.

A Light Shines from the Shadows
A Ceileachair Entwine inspired by Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Life started with a baa, baa, of joyful bleating,
but whispers turned sharp, blacksheep, from my heart's early beating.
"Have you any wool?" they’d ask, my value in jest,
Tithe and tax taken; yet none thought it the best.

Even with a "yessir, yessir, threebagsfull" every day,
Black sheep, black sheep, was still all they’d say.

What to notice:
• The original nursery rhyme language remains unchanged
• The foundational text appears in sequence
• New language deepens context and meaning
• The poem reads as a single, continuous voice

This balance; preservation paired with expansion; is central to the Entwine form.

Eligibility and Submission Rules

• Each entrant must select one foundational text from the official list below
• All words of the foundational text must be preserved in full, used once, and woven into the poem in sequence
• The poem must constitute a single unified work
• Only public-domain source texts listed below may be used
• Each entrant may submit one Entwine for consideration
• Formatting guidelines and submission deadlines are listed below

Official Foundational Text Options

The following texts have been selected for comparable length and difficulty to ensure fairness in judging.

Nursery Rhymes and Traditional Verses
1. Humpty Dumpty
2. Jack and Jill
3. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
4. Baa, Baa, Black Sheep; full traditional version
5. Little Bo-Peep
6. London Bridge Is Falling Down; multi-verse form

Prayers and Sacred Texts
7. The Lord’s Prayer; Our Father
8. The Serenity Prayer; full version
9. Psalm 23; King James Version
10. The Prayer of St. Francis; Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

Civic and Historical Texts
11. The Pledge of Allegiance
12. The Gettysburg Address; full text
13. The Preamble to the United States Constitution

Folk Songs and Traditional Lyrics
14. Row, Row, Row Your Boat; complete round lyrics
15. This Little Light of Mine; traditional multi-verse form
16. Ring Around the Rosie; traditional lyric

Selection of foundational text will not factor into judging; all options are considered comparable in difficulty.

Awards

Three winning entries will be selected:
• First Place: $650
• Second Place: $250
• Third Place: $100

In addition to monetary awards, winners will be recognized for excellence in form, craftsmanship, and depth and published on the Mile High Writers’ Workshop website.

Judging Criteria

Entries will be evaluated on:
• Faithful preservation of the foundational text
• Seamlessness and discipline of the weave
• Added emotional, intellectual, or historical resonance
• Cohesion, clarity, and strength of the completed poem

Who Should Enter

This contest is open to writers who value creative constraint, respect the weight of inherited language, and believe poetry can converse with the past without overwriting it.

If you are new to the Entwine form, this contest is an invitation.
If you are experienced, it is a challenge.

Cost: Free

Submission deadline: 12PM MT Sunday May 31, 2026

Formatting requirements: Please utilize Times New Roman or Arial 12pt. font - creative liberties with layout are welcomed

Judging timelines: Tentatively (based upon volume of responses) winners announced no later than Monday August 31, 2026. Contestants will be notified of any change to this timeline.

All submissions remain the rights of the author.

The Entwine © operates under a copyright protected definition/structure.