53rd MID-SOUTH POETRY FESTIVAL
SPONSORED BY THE POETRY SOCIETY OF TENNESSEE
MID-SOUTH POETRY FESTIVAL CONTESTS: DEADLINE: ALL ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN
AUGUST 23RD.
Winners of the 2010 Grandmother Earth National Writing Competition will be announced at the Friday, October 1, party.
***A Special Award of $200 is available for Best of the Fest. The first place winner in every contest is sent to a special judge, an outsider, who decides which of all the winning poems deserves this special award. The same person cannot win this award two years running. Decision of the judge is final.
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1. The Benefactors Awards: Prizes are $35, $30, $25, $20, $15, $10. Donations were received from: Florence Bruce, Pat Crocker, Charles Firmage, Malu Graham, Bob Lund, Prince McLemore, Randy Stoker, and Russell Strauss. This contest (any subject, any form, 40 lines) is open to PST members in good standing ($1 per entry) and nonmembers ($2 per entry).
2. The Malra Treece Humorous Poetry Contest: Any subject, any form, 30 lines. Entry must be humorous. Sponsored by Guy and Malra Treece. ($25, $15, $10)
3. The Cumberland Writers Contest: Any subject, free verse, 40 lines. Sponsored by Elizabeth Howard of Crossville, TN. ($25, $15, $10)
4. The Ann George (Alabama Poet) Challenge: Waiting, any form, 24 lines. Sponsored by Malu Graham. ($25, $15, $10)
5. The Pat & Sarah Double-Judged Contest: Man in the park, free verse, 12-27 lines. Sponsored by Pat Crocker and Sarah Hull Gurley. {($15, $10, $5) x 2}
6. The Reflection Contest: Any subject, a reflection (as demonstrated on the PST blog), 10 lines. Sponsored by Charles Firmage, creator of the form. ($15, $10, $5)
7. The Jabberwocky Contest: A parody of jabberwocky as seen in Alice in Wonderland, 30 lines. Sponsored by Leslie Blakeburn. ($15, $10, $5)
8. The Ode Challenge: Any subject, an ode, 40 lines. Sponsored by Rose Klix, Johnson City, TN. ($15, $10, $5)
9. The Pat Crocker Contest: Heroic couplets (rhymed iambic pentameter couplets), 12-24 lines. Sponsored by Pat Crocker. ($15, $10, $5)
10. The PST-NE Double-Judged Contest: Any subject, any form, 40 lines. Sponsored by James D.Collier and Janice Hornburg , members of the new NE chapter of PST. {($12, $8, $4) x 2}
11. The Etheree Challenge: Any subject, an etheree, 10 lines. Sponsored by Florence Bruce. ($20, 1HM)
WE REMEMBER
12. The Sam Sax Memorial Contest: We are requested to call this an “unshackled verse contest.” Any subject, free verse, 38 lines. Sponsored by Tom McDaniel. ($70, $40, $20)
13. The Elizabeth Clinton Memorial Contest: Magic, any form, 32 lines. Sponsored by Dr. Diane Clark in honor of a former teacher. ($30, $20, $10)
14. The Frances P. Denington Memorial Contest: Any subject. free verse, 30 lines. Sponsored by Michael R. (Mick) Denington. ($50, $30, $20)
15. The Sarah Catherine Anderson Memorial Contest: The blue scarf, free verse, 30 lines. Sponsored by Sarah Hull Gurley. ($25, $15, $10)
16. The Francis Mah Memorial Contest: Any subject, free verse, 40 lines. Sponsored by Jeanine Mah.($25, $15, $10)
17. The Chuck Belcher Memorial Contest: Any subject, a pirouette, 10 lines. Sponsored by J. Pompford (Pete) Harris in memory of the creator of this form. ($25, $15, $10)
18. The 1st President’s Memorial Contest: A Shakespearean or Petrarchan sonnet. No contractions, please. Sponsored by Margaret McCarthy in honor of Raymond McCarty, 1st President of the Poetry Society of Tennessee. ($25, $15, $10)
19. The Joan T. Strauss Memorial Contest: A love poem, any standard format (sonnet, pantoum, villanelle, etc.). Sponsored by Russell H. Strauss. ($25, $15, $10)
20. The Ophelia Dunn Moore Memorial Contest: Any subject, free verse, 40 lines. Sponsored by Jeanine Mah. ($25, $15, $10)
21. The Frieda Beasley Dorris Memorial Contest: Any subject, a dorsimbra, 12 lines. Sponsored by her sister, Bess Wells. ($25, $15, $10)
22 Joys of a Child’s First Nine Years Contest: Subject same as contest title, any form, 28 lines. Sponsored by Bob Lund in memory of his grand daughter, Caroline Hope Turns. ($17, $15, $13)
23 The Chris Stamey Memorial Contest: Fight to live, free verse, 30 lines. Sponsored by his aunt, JoAn Robbins Howerton. ($15, $10, $5)
24 The Ruth Boyd Pell Memorial Contest: Any subject, a villanelle, 19 lines. Sponsored by Elizabeth Pell. ($15, $10, $5)
25. The Bobbie Drobeck Memorial Contest: Books or libraries, free verse, 10-30 lines. Sponsored by Russell H. Strauss. ($15, $10, $5)
26. The Florence Rogers Tuck Memorial Contest: Any subject, a related haiku pair, 3 + 3. Sponsored by Leslie Blakeburn. ($15, $10, $5)
27. The Patricia Williams-Smith Memorial Contest: Any subject, a blank verse narrative (story) poem, 24-50 lines. Sponsored by Florence Bruce. ($15, $10, $5)
28. The Isabel Joshlin Glaser Memorial Contest: Any subject, a beech, 5 lines. (A beech has syllable count 2, 5, 5, 3, 8; lines 1 & 5 rhyme; lines 2, 3, & 4 rhyme.) Sponsored by J. Pompford (Pete) Harris and judged by its creator, D. Beecher Smith, II. ($20, 1 HM)
CONTEST RULES
Our rules are the same as those of National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS). Mail all entries at one time to the Contest Coordinator. Entries must be postmarked no later than Monday, August 23, 2010.
1. All poems must be original, unpublished work of the submitting poet, and not 1st place money winners in any previous contest.
2. Unless otherwise specified, a poem may be on any subject, in any form, and no longer than 40 lines. Please count lines carefully as rules are strictly applied.
3. Do not enter the same poem in more than one contest.
4. Type poems on standard 8 1/2” x 11” white paper; no handwritten poems will be accepted. Please use a clear, readable font style and print size. Staple two-page poems on the upper left.
5. Submit 2 copies of every poem, one with identification in upper right corner; the other with no ID. Send an extra no-ID copy to all double-judged contests. Show ID on both pages of all 2-page poems, upper right. Show title and no. of contest on all pages, upper left.
6. Any number of entries may be submitted to Contest #1: The Benefactors’ Awards, so long as proper fees are paid (members in good standing - $1 per entry; nonmembers - $2 per entry).
7. All participants, present or absent, must pay a $10 registration fee.
8. All first-place winners will be published in the PST yearbook, Tennessee Voices, which sells for $5 (members) and $10 (nonmembers). This publication becomes available in October, 2011.
POETRY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Saturday, October 2: Contest winners will be announced.
Door prizes will be given throughout the day.
9:00 am Registration and hospitality
10:00 am Poetry workshop / Dr. Karen Golightly of C.B.U.
12:00 noon Lunch in hotel dining room
1:00 pm Awards and readings
2:00 pm Break
2:15 pm Awards and readings continue
3:45 pm Final door prizes
4:00 pm Close
SPEAKER / WORKSHOP LEADER
Karen B. Golightly, Assistant Professor of English at C.B.U. in Memphis, teaches creative writing, Victorian literature, world literature, and composition. She has an M.F.A. in fiction from University of Memphis and a Ph.D. in 19th century British and Irish literature from Southern Illinois University. Her writing has been published in Georgetown Review, Memphis Magazine, Bluff, Best of Memphis Anthology, Deep Cleveland, George Eliot/George Henry Lewes Review, and others.
FESTIVAL PARTY—FRIDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 1, 6:30 P.M.
Enjoy Festival hospitality in the home of Sarah Hull Gurley, 9141 Forest Bend Court, Germantown. (Drivers, please see directions in next paragraph.) At this potluck feast, winners of the 2010 Grandmother Earth National Writing Competition** will be announced.
HOW TO GET THERE: Follow Poplar Avenue east, past the I-240 Expressway and through the city of Germantown (approximately 7 miles), to Forest Hill Irene Road. Turn right and continue going south. Cross Poplar Pike and a railroad track. Continue for one more mile to 9141 Forest Bend Court on the left. Look for an open wrought iron gate and mail boxes with balloons tied to them. Drive up the hill to the Gurley home on the right hand side of the drive.