Do you write poetry? Are you a Highline student or alumnus? Enter Highline College’s annual Poetry Contest for a chance to win a cash prize and have your poem published. Prizes will be awarded to ten poets; award amounts range from $125 (first prize) to $25 (seven finalists).
The deadline for submission is Friday, February 19, at 4 p.m.
The contest is a prelude to Highline College’s celebration of National Poetry Month that will take place in April 2016. Each poem will be displayed on a broadside in the Highline Library’s Exhibit and Art Gallery. Contest winners and finalists will have their broadsides hang alongside published poets Rick Barot and Claudia Castro Luna.
What Is a Broadside?
Loosely defined as single sheets of paper printed on one side, broadsides were the most diverse form of brief, single-occasion publishing before the Civil War.
Although broadsides were first introduced in England, they became a prime means of communication in the United States, often posted in the town square.
Advertisements, song lyrics, commentaries, cartoons, and poems were printed and posted in towns across the nation. Later, Harlem Renaissance, Concrete, and Beat writers claimed the broadside as a below-the-radar way to get their words out onto the streets.
Deadline for Submission
“Dreams of Blue” earned Daylen A. Nguyen first place in Highline’s 2015 Student Poetry Contest.
Submission Guidelines
- Submit poems about any subject.
- Keep poem length to no more than 20 lines. Poems must be able to fit onto an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. Poems can be shorter than the 20 line maximum.
- Type your submission.
- Submit up to three poems that have not been previously published; include on each “Student Poetry Contest 2016.”
- Include name, email address and phone number on each submission.
- Submit your poem(s) one of three ways:
- Email to dmoore@highline.edu; include Student Poetry Contest 2016 in the subject line. You can also use the Submit My Poem button above.
- Deliver to the Reference Desk in the Library (Building 25 on Highline’s main campus).
- Send to Deborah Moore, Student Poetry Contest 2016, Highline College, P.O. Box 98000, MS 25-2B, Des Moines, WA 98198-9800.