Cento Poetry Challenge

A cento is a poem composed entirely of lines taken from already published poems by different authors. The word "cento" means "patchwork," and you can think of a cento as a verbal quilt made up of fabric (=lines) from different sources, sewn together.

For this swap, each participant will create a cento of at least 8 lines and will send it to 2 partners. You shouldn't use more than 1 line from any given poem, though you can borrow from multiple poems by the same author. Also, be careful to alter nothing in the original lines except punctuation and capitalization, and please make sure you include a key to your cento in which you list the authors and poems from which your lines are taken. Also include English translations in your key if some (or all) of your cento is in a language other than English.

In earlier rounds of this swap people have asked if song lyrics can 'count' as poetry, and I say, 'yes'--so they're fair game for you to use if you want.

How you present your cento is up to you: typed, hand-written, composed out of letters clipped from magazines, or whatever feels right!

Fine print: 1) This is an international swap. 2) Unrated swappers with filled-out profiles are welcome. 3) Rated swappers should have a 4.90 rating or higher.

Since this swap isn't profile-specific, you can start working on your cento right away if you'd like. So crack open your volumes of poetry, and enjoy!