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Write a poem that explores memories of the end of summer, a story that features a character working on a project about a person’s biography, or a travel journal with poetic observations of a singular moment or image in time.
In Lift Every Voice, Phillip B. Williams explores the devastating effects of avoiding grief, and sitting with that feeling, more than two decades after his father’s death, is what allowed him to finally mourn and eventually make his art.
Jane Kenyon’s poem “Three Songs at the End of Summer” features three portraits of late summer, each evoking its own distinct sounds, moods, and atmosphere. The first section of the poem begins with “a second crop of hay” and “five gleaming crows,” continues through the sights and sounds of summer camp, and ends with a couplet that gestures to autumn: “Schoolbooks, carpools, pleated skirts; / water, silver-still, and a vee of geese.” The second section consists of two three-line stanzas infused with the sound of cicadas, and in the final section, Kenyon explicitly reaches back in time to the speaker’s childhood and the scent of a damp dirt road on a foggy morning. Taking inspiration from this structure, write a three-part poem that explores a few resonant memories of the end of summer—fleeting images and sounds and smells of various activities. Experiment with sections of varying lengths to create dramatic effect.
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,175); publication by Southword Editions, Munster Literature Centre’s publishing imprint; and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Grayson Books, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Bruce Cohen will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 90 pages with a $26 entry fee by August 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
