Dear all, In a previous submission I mentioned that I thought submissions should be original owing to the collections of mottos readily available. Quoting them would be too easy!
It was not my intention that someone should sit down and check each entry for originality against a list of known dial verse! Rather, I thought that people should be encouraged to engage in the creative process and spend some time thinking something up. If it turns out that someone else has already got the same verse down on paper I really don't care. It's the act of applying one's mind that I'm interested in and think should be rewarded. As the discussion has developed, I'm increasingly of the opinion that the competitive element initially envisaged is going to be divisive and a bad thing for the list. The language discussion alone would seem to prove this to be the case. Whilst the idea of publishing all entries and asking people to vote for their top ten is appealing as a way to judge entries, it doesn't get around the problem of entries submitted in unfamiliar languages. It would also be complicated and may well not produce one single winner. It has been suggested to allow entries in all languages if they have an accompanying translation, but so much can be lost in translation that it would seem to be very unfair to judge translations alongside native English. A luck dip prize draw solution is perhaps less rewarding of particular talent, but at least it is simple and encourages everyone to have a go, which is surely the whole point. It also gets over a little problem I'd noticed, which my own submission may fall fowl of, regarding sticking to the 5-7-5 syllabuls of the haiku form. A Man grows wrinkled Passing hours show on his face A Dial - Immortal works if you pronounce Hours like *ours*, but not if you choose to say *ow ers* which is then 2 syllabuls! Other submissions have middle lines not of 7 syllabuls - indeed, 4-6-4 or 4-8-4 is easier to compose. The lucky dip solution would at least mean that if the winning entry were not strictly by *the rules*, no-one need feel hard done by. Finally, the motto *Life sucks and then you die.* must surely be a world beater! I'll start working on the dial design right away - perhaps a gnomon of a shotgun with two smoking barrels ;-) David Higgon London P.S. To Bill Maddux - ad infinitum might well be hyperbole under pressure, but watch out in case I start talking of the semi-infinite - it exists (trust me, I'm a mathematician!).
