Free contest, Moving Words Poetry Competition, prize: 6 winners of $100 each (DC)

Deadline: 21 January 2011

MOVING WORDS Guidelines for 2011 are here!

ELIGIBILITY

Poets who live within the DC Metro transit area (the Northern Virginia counties Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun and the cities Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church; the District of Columbia; and the Maryland counties Montgomery and Prince George's) and who are over 18 years old are eligible to enter. Poets who have previously been selected for Moving Words must wait two years before submitting entries again.

GUIDELINES

1. Poems must be 10 lines or less, including stanza breaks (but not including the title).
2. All poems must be typed; each poem must be submitted on a separate sheet.
3. DO NOT put your name on poems. Include one separate sheet with your name, address, phone, e-mail address, and the poem titles in the order in which they appear.
4. If submitting poems by email send only Word docs or PDF files. Poems submitted in the body of an email will not be accepted.
5. Poets may submit up to 3 poems for consideration. There is no reading fee.
6. Excerpts from longer poems are eligible, but the poet must provide only ten or fewer excerpted lines. Do not send the full poem.
7. Previously published poems are eligible, but the author must own copyright for poems that have been previously published.
8. Poems will not be returned.

THEME: First Loves

This year’s competition calls for poems inspired by first loves: places, moments, people, ideas, or objects that captivated you. The theme is meant to be broad and to solicit a range of interpretations and meanings.

DEADLINE

The deadline for submissions will be Friday, January 21, 2011. All entries must be received on or before the deadline. Entries may be submitted by mail or email:
Email: movingwords@arlingtonva.us
Mail: Moving Words
Arlington Cultural Affairs
3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive
Arlington, VA 22206

JUDGES

Judges for the 2011 competition are poets Myong Hee Kim, Sami Miranda, and Dan Vera.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS

Six poems will be selected for display in Northern Virginia buses from April through September 2011. Winners will be announced in March 2011. Winning poets will receive $100 and will be invited to give a public reading of their work in April 2011. Winning poems will be posted on this site and will be archived on the Arlington County CommuterPage.com website.

ABOUT

MOVING WORDS is a program of the Cultural Affairs Division of the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources and is sponsored by the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services Commuter Assistance Program and METRO.

For more information please email movingwords@arlingtonva.us

More information here.