GalleyCrush: The Renunciations
Donika Kelly’s The Renunciations, forthcoming from Graywolf Press on May 4, 2021.
Genre: Poetry
Honoring the Storytelling Tradition
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In honor of Black History Month, the folks at Open Road Media put together this collection of interviews in which authors such as Henry Louis Gates Jr., Virginia Hamilton, Alice Walker, and others discuss the significance of storytelling as part of African American culture.
Patricia Spears Jones
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“Don’t be afraid— / Someone has walked this way before / All the world’s music in her hands.” Patricia Spears Jones reads “Discovering America Again” by Lorenzo Thomas, her own poem “The Birth of Rhythm and Blues,” and talks about what it means to be a literary citizen. This video, part of the P.O.P. series, was shot and edited by Rachel Eliza Griffiths in partnership with the Academy of American Poets. Spears Jones is the eleventh winner of the Jackson Poetry Prize.
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Line / Break With Jericho Brown
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“I’ve been in mourning about the experience of writing The Tradition. It really wore me out and I loved every second of it,” says Jericho Brown about writing his Pulitzer Prize–winning collection, The Tradition (Copper Canyon Press, 2019), and how he works through self-doubt in this installment of Line / Break hosted by Laura Buccieri, press director of publicity for Copper Canyon Press.
Genre:
Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry
Arrowsmith Press
Entry Fee:
$20
Deadline:
February 15, 2021
A prize of $1,000 will be given annually for a poetry collection published in English by a writer who is not a resident of the United States.
Snow Day
In Mary Ruefle’s poem “Snow” from her book The Most of It (Wave Books, 2007), she starts with a simple sentiment: “Every time it starts to snow, I would like to have sex.” From that line, the reader is welcomed into a series of meditations on sex, devotion, birds, and love. The poem takes the form of a column with several enjambed lines as if the prose text were confined into a narrow space the way one may feel while stuck inside on a snow day. Write a poem in a conversational manner that describes how you are affected by certain types of weather. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you look out the window?
On the Pulse of the Morning
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“Lift up your eyes upon / This day breaking for you. / Give birth again / To the dream,” reads Maya Angelou from her poem “On the Pulse of the Morning” for the 1993 presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton.
Genre:
Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry
Beloit Poetry Journal
Entry Fee:
$15
Deadline:
April 30, 2021
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Beloit Poetry Journal is given annually for a single poem. Natasha Trethewey will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $15 entry fee between March 1 and April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Poetry International Prize
Poetry International
Entry Fee:
$15
Deadline:
April 30, 2021
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Poetry International is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems with a $15 entry fee ($3 for each additional poem) by April 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
A Celebration of Audre Lorde
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“Lorde is a towering figure in the world of letters,” says Roxane Gay in this 92Y virtual event celebrating the publication of The Selected Works of Audre Lorde (Norton, 2020), which Gay edited. Joining Gay to discuss and read Lorde’s poetry and prose are Mahogany L. Browne, Saeed Jones, and Porsha Olayiwola.
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