Thirty students from all the PPS high schools rocked the Mission Theater during the first city-wide slam poetry competition, Verselandia! Three students from each school (who had won their school’s playoffs) had three minutes each to perform an original poem. Names were drawn at random from a fishbowl and a panel of five judges held up scorecards after each performance.

This was no poetry reading. With a rowdy crowd, an energetic host (the fantastic Anis Mojgani, whose performances on YouTube can bring people to tears), and students with impressive stage presence, it was an entertaining evening. But beyond that, the amount of heart each poet put into their work–including every messy emotion a person can feel–often moved the audience to their feet. There were tales of roller derby bravery, explanations of the perks of dating a nerd, and one student even asked another student to prom.

After the first round, the fifteen students with the highest scores performed a second piece. Then while the judges tallied the scores, Anis Mojgani performed two poems. For all the performances, the audience listened in pin-drop silence, gasped, murmured in agreement, and burst into applause.

Finally, five winners were selected. The two runners-up received $250 gift cards to NorthFace and the three winners received iPads. (Thanks to our generous sponsors!) Congratulations to not only the five winners, but to every student who took the stage at the Mission and who participated in the school slams at Benson, Cleveland, Franklin, Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Metropolitan Learning Center, Roosevelt, and Wilson high schools. We’re already looking forward to next year!

]]> http://witspdx.com/2012/05/07/verselandia/feed/ 0 http://witspdx.com/2011/01/11/deadline-alert-feb-1-for-the-elizabeth-bishop-prizes-45000-in-scholarships/ http://witspdx.com/2011/01/11/deadline-alert-feb-1-for-the-elizabeth-bishop-prizes-45000-in-scholarships/#comments Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:41:59 +0000 MaryR http://witspdx.com/?p=914 Attention young writers: You could win a $15,000 scholarship to the Writing & Publishing Program at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. How? Submit your fiction, poetry, or play to The Blue Pencil Online by February 1, 2011 at 12:00 noon EST.

Be sure to read the submission guidelines and follow them exactly. (Note: this is an important step in submitting to any publication or contest. Making sure your document is in 12-point, double-spaced Times New Roman may seem nitpicky, but showing an editor that you can read and follow instructions is the first major step toward getting published.)

Entries for The Blue Pencil are only accepted through the website’s submission manager.

The Writing & Publishing program at Walnut Hill School for the Arts “aims to celebrate the freshest, most accomplished examples of imaginative literary craft by young writers.” In addition to a scholarship, each winner receives a copy of Elizabeth Bishop’s Poems, Prose, and Letters and a chance to read his or her work at the annual spring celebration of the print edition of The Blue Pencil. Prize-winning works are published on The Blue Pencil Online.

Bend, Oregon. February 19, 2009. The Nature of Words, Central Oregon’s premier literary organization, announces the launch of its fifth annual literary festival with the call for submissions to the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition for young writers. A new category, the nature essay, has been added to the literary nonfiction genre, and is sponsored by the Deschutes Land Trust.

The competition, now in its fourth year, is awarded at the annual literary festival, scheduled for November 4-8, 2009 in Bend, Oregon. Prizes will be awarded in fiction, literary nonfiction and poetry in two age categories, 15-18 and 19-25. Winning writers will receive a cash prize, inclusion of their winning entry in an anthology, recognition in an awards ceremony at the November festival, and a scholarship to one of The Nature of Words workshops in their winning genre.

“The Rising Star competition continues to grow in reach and recognition each year,” said Ellen Waterston, Director of The Nature of Words. “In 2009, we are excited to welcome the Deschutes Land Trust as sponsor of the new nature essay category.”

Submission Guidelines

* The competition is open to writers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
* Competition genres include poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction and literary nonfiction-nature essay.
* The nature essay should offer a reflection on the natural world as it affects and informs the personal world. The writing should demonstrate close observation of nature, as well as the ability of the writer to extrapolate from that observation nature’s ability to instruct mankind.
* All entrants must be a member of one of the eligible age categories: ages
* 15-18 or ages 19-25.
* Submitting writers who have won in the past two years may not submit in their winning genre(s).
* Submitting writers may not have published a first book or chapbook, but may have had individual stories, essays or poems in print.
* Submit each entry, accompanied by a short biographical summary via email to risingstar@thenatureofwords.org. Poets may submit two unpublished poems (4 single-spaced pages, total); prose writers may submit one unpublished double-spaced piece of no more than 3,000 words per genre. “Publication” includes appearance on any Internet source except a blog. Use one inch margins, and 12-point type. Submissions must be in Microsoft Word® format. Entries will not be returned, so entrants should retain a copy of their submissions for their records.
* The author’s name, mailing address, phone number, email address, genre of the submission (poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, literary nonfiction/nature essay), age category, and word count must appear on a cover sheet with each entry.
* Entrants’ short bio should include information about themselves and their interest in/experience in writing.
* Winners must submit a photo (head shot preferred) for use in publicity and the Event Guide.
* Entrants must mail a check in the amount of $5 per entry (submission fee), payable to The Nature of Words and addressed to P.O. Box 56, Bend, Oregon OR 97709 or pay via the PayPal® link at www.thenatureofwords.org/Donate. PayPal payments must include “Rising Star submission fee” in the payment description.
* Entries must be received in The Nature of Words email (risingstar@thenatureofwords.org) no later than 12 midnight on the submission date of June 30, 2009 (new extended submission date). Entries dated after this date will not be read.

For more information about the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition and The Nature of Words, visit www.thenatureofwords.org, email info@thenatureofwords.org or call 541.330.4381.

A nationwide competition for creative writers aged 15-18. Entries accepted during the month of April in the genres of poetry and prose. Prize in each category: $250 and a full tuition scholarship to the 2009 Young Writers Workshop at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

To enter in poetry: send no more than 2 poems (limit of 25 lines each) per entrant, along with an entry fee of $5.

To enter in prose (fiction or essay): send one essay or story (no more 1000 words) per entrant, along with an entry fee of $5.

To enter in both poetry and prose: send no more than 2 poems (limit of 25 lines each) and one essay or story (of no more than 1000 words) per entrant, along with an entry fee of $10. Entries longer than the limits listed above will be returned, along with their entry fees.

Entrants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

All entries must be typed on white 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper. Do not put your name on your entries. Include a separate cover sheet with the following information on it: your name, home address, phone number, e- mail address, date of birth, and the name and address of your high school. Checks or money orders to cover the entry fee should be made out to SIUC, with “Young Writers Workshop” written in the check’s memo line. Please do not send cash. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for contest results. No entries will be returned, so please keep copies of the work you send. No e-mail or faxed submissions will be accepted.

Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony during the annual Young Writers Workshop at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, a five-day, co-ed, residential creative writing workshop for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors interested in developing their skills in the writing of poetry and prose. If a prizewinner cannot attend the Workshop, the prize will not be awarded to that winner. Travel costs to and from the Workshop are the responsibility of the winner. Previous award winners cannot enter again.

The Young Writers Workshop will be held in 2009 from June 23 to June 27, 2009.

To enter, send your submissions, postmarked from April 1 to April 30, 2009, to:

The Younkin-Rivera Prizes for Young Writers
Allison Joseph, Director
The Young Writers Workshop
Department of English
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Faner Hall 2380–Mail Code 4503
1000 Faner Drive
Carbondale, IL 62901

Questions only: aljoseph(at)siu.edu (replace (at) with @)

Winners will be announced at the end of May 2009.

Guidelines as well as how to enter can be found at the OSPA website and grab yourself a copy of the official rules.