Submissions are open for the Furious Flower Poetry Prize. Presented by the Furious Flower Poetry Center, the nation’s first academic center for Black poetry, the annual award seeks to ensure the “visibility, inclusion, and critical consideration of Black poets in American letters.” The winning poet will receive a prize of $1,000, as well as an honorarium of $500 for their participation in a reading with Furious Flower in fall 2021.
Submit up to three poems totaling no more than six pages with a $15 entry fee by February 28. Erica Hunt will judge. Poets who have published no more than one poetry collection are eligible. Visit the website for complete guidelines and directions on how to submit.
Based at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Furious Flower emerged from a watershed 1994 conference honoring the work of poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Today, the center offers year-round programming and is home to archives for the study of Black poetry and culture. Previous winners of the Furious Flower Poetry Prize include Diamond Forde and Rachelle Parker.