Ten Questions for Tara M. Stringfellow
“If one poem broke your heart, my next poem should uplift you.” —Tara M. Stringfellow, author of Magic Enuff
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Genre: Poetry
Summer Morning
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“I know all the dark places / Where the sun hasn’t reached yet...” Charles Simic reads his poem “Summer Morning,” which he says needs no introduction, in this video for an installment of Poetry Breaks, a series created by Leita Luchetti in the 1980s and 1990s presented in partnership with the Academy of American Poets. The Pulitzer Prize–winning poet died at the age of eighty-four on January 9, 2023.
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Maria Stepanova on Advice for Young Writers
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In this Louisiana Channel video, Russian poet and journalist Maria Stepanova offers her advice for young writers to look forward to something unknown and to be able to “look into the future with some degree of hope.”
Scents
“We tend to treat odor in general as a sort of taboo,” writes Scott Sayare in a New York Times Magazine article about a woman who discovered she could smell Parkinson’s disease, in some cases over a dozen years before medical diagnosis. “Modern doctors are trained to diagnose by inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation; ‘inhalation’ is not on the list, and social norms would discourage it if it were.” This week, focus your attention on your sense of smell as you go about your days, perhaps even ignoring social norms as you inhale all the odors around you. Then, write a poem that focuses solely, or primarily, on smell—perhaps juxtaposing scents that are in your everyday life now and those from a more distant past.
Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House Library
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Watch this short video offering a glimpse of the miniature books handwritten by revered authors in the library of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House at Windsor Castle, the residence of the British royal family in the eponymous English town. Read more about the miniature library in “The Written Image: Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House Library Books” in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Banyan Poetry Prize
Banyan Review
Entry Fee:
$20
Deadline:
September 1, 2024
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Banyan Review will be given for a single poem. Natasha Kane will judge.
Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Call This Mutiny: Uncollected Poems by Craig Santos Perez and The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma.
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Open Poetry Book Contest
Omnidawn Publishing
Entry Fee:
$27
Deadline:
August 31, 2024
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Katy Peterson will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 40 to 120 pages with a $27 entry fee from July 1 to August 16. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
The Waiting Seasons: One Poet’s Life in Alaska
From her home just outside of Fairbanks proper, a poet subverts mainstream Alaskan imagery to conjure the reality of her writing life, which includes a local waste transfer site, muddy shoulder seasons, and slow internet.
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First Book Award
Academy of American Poets
Entry Fee:
$35
Deadline:
September 1, 2024
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Graywolf Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has not published a book of poetry in a standard edition. The winning book will also be distributed to over 5,000 members of the Academy of American Poets. Alberto Ríos will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $35 entry fee (fee waivers may be requested via e-mail) from July 1 to September 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
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