Contests

Adult Poetry Contest
Youth Poetry Contest

Split This Rock 2009 Adult Poetry Contest - Deadline Extended

Benefits Split This Rock Poetry Festival - Washington, DC, March 10-13, 2010

$1,000 awarded for poems of provocation & witness

Patricia Smith, Judge

Deadline Extended to March 23, 2009!

Split This Rock is pleased to announce our second annual poetry contest, to be judged by poet and National Book Award finalist Patricia Smith. First place $500; 2nd and 3rd place, $250 each. Winning poems will be published on www.SplitThisRock.org, and the 1st-place winner will be invited to read winning poem at Split This Rock Poetry Festival, 2010.

DEADLINE: March 23, 2009 (postmark)

Reading Fee: $25, which supports Split This Rock Poetry Festival

First-place winner will receive $500, free registration, and an invitation to read the winning poem at Split This Rock Poetry Festival in March 2010. The winning poem will be published on our website.

Second-place and third-place winners receive $250 each. Poems will be published on our website, and winners will receive free registration at the March 2010 festival.

Details:

Submissions should be in the spirit of Split This Rock: socially engaged poems, poems that reach beyond the self to connect with the larger community or world; poems of provocation and witness. This theme can be interpreted broadly and may include but is not limited to work addressing politics, government, war, leadership; issues of identity (gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, disability, body image, immigration, cultural heritage, etc.); community, civic engagement, education, activism; and poems about history, Americana, cultural icons. Read the winning poems from 2008 here.

Split This Rock subscribes to the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses Contest Code of Ethics. Click here to read the code.

Submission guidelines:

  • Send up to 3 unpublished poems, no more than 6 pages total, in any style, in the spirit of Split This Rock (see above).
  • Staple one cover page to your submissions containing your name, address, phone number, email, and the titles of your poems. This is the only part of the submission which should contain your name.
  • Enclose a check or money order for $25 (made out to "Split This Rock") to:

    Split This Rock Poetry Contest
    c/o Institute for Policy Studies
    1112 16th Street NW, Suite 600
    Washington, DC 20036

  • Simultaneous submissions OK, but please notify us immediately if the poem is accepted elsewhere.
  • Postmark deadline: March 23, 2009 (EXTENDED)

Judge's bio: Patricia Smith, author, poet, teacher, performer, is the author of five books of poetry: Blood Dazzler (Coffee House Press, 2008), a book of poems chronicling the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina; Teahouse of the Almighty (Coffee House Press, 2006), a 2005 National Poetry Series selection, winner of the 2007 Paterson Poetry Prize, and finalist for the 2007 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; Close to Death (1993); Big Towns, Big Talk (1992); and Life According to Motown (1991). In addition, she has authored the history "Africans In America" and the children's book Janna and the Kings. Smith's work has appeared in Poetry, The Paris Review, TriQuarterly, and many other journals. She is a National Book Award Finalist, Pushcart Prize winner, Cave Canem faculty member, and four-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam, the most successful poet in the competition's history.


2nd Annual "THE WORLD AND ME" Poetry Contest

Sponsored by Sol y Soul and Split This Rock

This contest encourages students from the District of Columbia to write poems relating to family, personal identity, or politics.

The World and Me is open to all youth residing in or attending school in Washington, DC. Prizes will be awarded in two categories:

  • Age 12 and under
  • High school students age 13 and older

Contestants will submit 1-3 poems. The theme is "The World and Me." The aim of the contest is to encourage youth to approach one or more of the following questions:

  • What about your neighborhood/city/country/planet makes you happy/proud?
  • What makes you sad?
  • If you were in charge, what would you change?
  • What issues do you care deeply about?
  • What situations in the news or in your neighborhood make you angry? Or glad? Tell us in a poem!

We have a team of educators and volunteers to assist you with any related programs. Our team can also provide workshops to get your young poets excited and started on their poetry!

DEADLINE: March 13, 2009 (postmark)

Submit 1-3 poems and the application form to:

SOL Y SOUL
Attn: The World and Me
916 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
or fax to: (202) 315-1303

For more information, contact Regie Cabico: regie@solysoul.com or (202) 315-1320