The New Haven Free Public Library is accepting submissions for its annual poetry competition, the theme of which, this year, is “New Haven + reading legacies.” The submission deadline is March 1. Winners will receive $100 cash awards at an April 1 event at the library and have their poems published in the New Haven Review.
Carol Brown, the library’s adult programming supervisor, said in an email message that the contest has been held for the last four years, and that the “first one was planned in collaboration with the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.”
“The poetry contest is designed to engage creative ideas and expression in poetry with a New Haven context,” Brown said.
Asked how this year’s theme was chosen, Brown said, “We wanted to encourage the possibility of reflection on — without actually tying it to — the library’s 125th anniversary year. We always encourage a really open interpretation of the contest theme to maximize fun and creativity.”
Brown said poems will be judged on their originality, overall impact, and technical excellence. Judges will ask themselves and one another, “Has the poet successfully developed the theme in an original or unexpected way?” “Does the poem have strong emotional and/or intellectual resonance?” and, “Do the poem’s structure, words, and rhythm work together to support the sense of the poem?”
Library staff members will identify competition finalists. Winners, Brown said, will be chosen by Will Baker (executive director, The Institute Library), Claire Zoghb (graphics director, Long Wharf Theatre), Frank Mitchell (cultural historian), poet Shula Chernoff, Jean Webb (manager of foundation and government relations, International Festival of Arts & Ideas), Kim Futrell (outreach coordinator, City of New Haven Office of Cultural Affairs), and city librarian Christopher Korenowsky.
Winners of last year’s poetry competition were John Cubeta Zibluk, Dennis Wilson, and Gabriella Brank, whose poems were published in the summer edition of the New Haven Review.
For detailed submission guidelines, visit poetry2012.eventbrite.com.