Who Says Poets Aren't Rock Stars? Prizewinner to Appear on Music Channel

Turn up the music, put down the air guitar, and start writing some poetry about rock and roll.

That seems to be the message that the sponsors of a new poetry prize are trying to relay. The contest, sponsored by mtvU, a part of MTV Networks that broadcasts to over seven hundred college campuses across the country, is trying to appeal to college poets and rock fans by offering publication in an anthology, Third Rail: An Anthology of Rock and Roll Poetry, to be released by MTV Books. In addition, a profile of the winning poet will appear on-air and on mtvU.com.

Other poets who have work forthcoming in Third Rail include Mark Bibbins, Paul Muldoon, and Kevin Young.

The contest is open to poets over the age of eighteen who are enrolled as part-time or full-time students in a nationally accredited college. The deadline for submitting a poem of up to one hundred lines using the online entry form is May 26.