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 December 11, 2020.
Winning poems will be sent to national level contests and may be published in PST’s anthology Tennessee Voices. Deadlines for elementary division (any form) and Eye Poem (all divisions) contests are February 15, 2020.
Contest categories for written poetry forms include the following:
- 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 second through twelfth graders. 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 https://bit.ly/eyepoem.
Ms. Frances Cowden, the Student Contest Coordinator, reminds all teachers and students that PST is holding its contest this year. Ms. Cowden is 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.
As noted above, contest submission deadlines vary by category and grade levels, from December 2020 to February 2021. The PST Student Contest Brochure, available at https://bit.ly/sbroch2021, outlines contest details, including formatting requirements and submission methods.
One of PST’s central values is to encourage young poets. PST President Lori Goetz invites students, teachers and parents to become involved. She reflects, “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 adds, “We accept home-school organization, club, and individual student submissions.”
For more information about the society and contest, visit poetrytennessee.org.
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