The Poetry Society of Tennessee reminds all student poets that the middle and upper school division deadline for its annual free verse student poetry contest, open to all Tennessee-based students, is Dec. 11.
Winning poems will be sent to national level contests and may be published in the Poetry Society’s anthology Tennessee Voices. Deadlines for the elementary division (any form) and Eye Poem (all divisions) contests are Feb. 15, 2021.
Contest categories for written poetry forms include:
High School (Grades 9–12) — Free Verse
Middle School (Grades 6–8) — Free Verse
Elementary (Grades 2–5) — Any Form
The Eye Poem category is open to grades 2–12. An eye poem is a poetic collage of visual and verbal imagery. Students combine images from magazine pages with words, phrases and clauses on a single page to create a free verse poem. The objective is to create a mood or inspiration. Learn more and see examples at bit.ly/eyepoem.
Contest coordinator Frances Cowden, a long-time member of PST-West chapter who has been recognized by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies for student poetry contest leadership emphasizes that one of the The Poetry Society of Tennessee’s central values is to encourage young poets.
PST President Lori Goetz invites all students, teachers and parents to become involved in this project.
“Many of our students already are experimenting with the spoken word; the student contest is a great way for students to explore poetry as a written art form,” she said. “We accept home-school organization, club and individual student submissions.”
As noted, the contest submission deadline for the middle and high school divisions is Dec. 11, with elementary and Eye Poem following in February. Find a contest brochure with further details on formatting requirements and submission methods at bit.ly/sbroch2021.
For more information on the society, visit poetrytennessee.org or contact Goetz at poetrytennessee@gmail.com.
