Wednesday, February 11, 2009

South Carolina Poets, Take Note

Hi there, friends at Converse College in South Carolina! Here’s a contest announcement just for you!

South Carolina Poetry Initiative 2009
SINGLE POEM CONTEST
http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/poetry/singlepoem2009.pdf

Entries are now being accepted for the 2009 statewide Single Poem Contest. The contest is sponsored by the South Carolina Poetry Initiative, which is located in the University of South Carolina’s English Department and The State newspaper. Winners will have their poems published in The State newspaper and will also receive cash prizes.
1st place 400.00
2nd place 300.00
3rd place 200.00
People’s Choice 100.00

Guidelines: Entries must be postmarked by Friday, February 27th, 2009.
1. Each entry is a single poem.
2. Poems submitted must be written by an individual 16yrs. of age or older.
3. Poets may submit more than one poem.
4. Each poem must be accompanied by a $5 fee made payable to USC Educational Foundation. *This is important: Checks made payable to other entities will not be accepted.
5. Each poem must be no more than 70 lines in length.
6. The author's name should not appear on the page with the poem.
7. However, each entry must be accompanied by a cover sheet that includes:
a. name
b) address
c) phone number
d) name of the poem
e) e-mail address
f) author's date of birth,
g) 50-75 word bio.
8. All poems entered must have been written by the poet.
9. Only original poetry will be considered.
10. All entries must be unpublished poems.
11. No entries will be returned to the author.
12. Previous winners must wait a period of two years before submitting work.
13. Announcements about winners will be made in The State.
14. Poets must be South Carolina natives or permanent residents of South Carolina.
15. Note: Individual criticism of poems cannot be given.
16. Mail your entry or entries to:
Kwame Dawes/poetry contest
c/o The State, Features Department
P.O. Box 1333
Columbia, SC 29202

Entry Fee: Submissions should include a check for $5 made out to USC Educational Foundation to help defray administrative costs.

Judging: The contest’s judge will be a nationally acclaimed poet.

Note: On March 30th, the top ten poems, as determined by our judge, will appear in The State newspaper; and from this list, readers will pick the winner of People’s Choice prize. The final winners will be announced at a celebratory event featuring a reading by a renowned poet on Saturday, April 11th. The Awards Ceremony will feature an announcement of the winners for both the Single Poem Contest and the South Carolina Poetry Initiative’s 2009 Book Contest. This event will take place from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM at 80808 Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street.

Work-in-Progress

DC-area author Leslie Pietrzyk explores the creative process and all things literary.