Six Word Essay Challenge: Go Now!

TreeHugger and SMITH magazine (I’d never heard of it either…) are hosting a contest called “Six Word Memoirs: The Green Life.” Basically, the challenge is to summarize your philosophy on environmental issues in 6 words or less:

“Got a swell philosophy? Traveled a strange path? Fall off the eco-wagon often? Lay your tiny tale on us [...] Everyone on this big blue marble has a green story. So, what’s yours?”

Let me warn you, it’s a challenge. Maybe you, dear reader, are less verbose than I am, but six words is a limited canvass for anyone. The contest hosts are offering great prizes (my fingers are crossed for the Planet Earth DVDs), so you should give it a shot. And be sure to add your submission to the comments here as well. In a few days, I’ll share my submission–though if you’re clever you can probably find it on the contest site. Good luck!

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:

- "Six is a Popular Number", posted by Taylor on February 21, 2008

- "Satellite Challenge #1", posted by Jarred on January 28, 2008

- "Happy Earth Day, Everyone", posted by Taylor on April 22, 2008

- "Web Frustration: Partial RSS Feeds", posted by Taylor on July 23, 2008

- "Satellite Challenge #2", posted by Jarred on January 30, 2008

  • Name
    Fourteen years, dog dead, goodbye sis'.
  • diannabenjamin
    dog, rabbit, father, hole in ground
  • diannabenjamin
    selling my home, husband no longer
  • brandon
    memories made, stories told, generations continue.
  • locutus
    Energy equals (mass)(light speed squared).
  • another angle on it ...

    It's your karma ... use it wisely
  • My attempt:

    We are universe; Universe is us.
  • Zach
    -global warming... ice melting... go green

    -world gets warmer, fewer white bears
  • Because I enjoy contention:
    "Nuclear power would save us all."

    Wired magazine (new window) had a six-word essay contest a few years ago. There were some brilliant entries. Some of my favorites:

    The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly.
    - Orson Scott Card

    The Axis in WWII: haiku! Gesundheit.
    - Howard Waldrop

    He read his obituary with confusion.
    - Steven Meretzky

    Leia: "Baby's yours." Luke: "Bad news…"
    - Steven Meretzky

    Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time
    - Alan Moore

    Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
    - Margaret Atwood
  • Here's mine:

    "Don't act in isolation; isolate inaction"
  • My attempt: Kermit's right: being green ain't easy.
  • Huh. Interesting. Do you know the origins of the Six Word Story challenge? Someone once bet that Hemingway that he couldn't tell a story using only six words. And he came up with the following: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

    Is it a story? No. Is it compelling as hell? Yeeeeeah. It's funny you bring this up since the Guardian just had a piece about this very phenomenon: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/02/six_w...
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