SPRING STUDENT AWARDS:

POETRY SOCIETY OF TENNESSEE

OPEN TO STUDENTS IN TENNESSE SCHOOLS AND STUDENT MEMBERS OF PST 

DEADLINE:  February 15, 2009 POSTMARK or

Received by February 18.

$50 in prizes for each level: Elementary, Middle School, High School

Students may enter one regular poem (50-line limit) and one Eye-Poem in the annual Spring Student Contest. Poems for grade six or older must be typed in plain (11-14 point) font to be eligible for national competition. Top winners will be sent to the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. First-prize winners on each level may be published in Tennessee Voices at the discretion of the editors.

Send two copies of one original poem.

On one copy, supply no identification except the grade of the student in the upper left corner.

On second copy, In upper right corner supply student’s name, school name and address, student grade level  Place the student’s statement of originality at the top of the in the right hand corner or stapled to the back of the copy with identification.

Example:

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY: 

I certify that this poem is my original work, and has not been copied in whole or part from any author’s poems including poems posted on the internet.

Signed________________________________Date:___________________________

Teachers may send class entries and must send a cover sheet with the teacher’s email, and  telephone number. Stack all poems with names in one stack and without names in the other. We will email winners’ list to teachers to notify students who will be invited to read their poems at the awards ceremony in April.

Eye-Poems: Please follow new rules to avoid disqualification.

Up to $150 in prizes will depend upon participation at the discretion of the judges.

Send the original or a color copy—8 ½ X 11 maximum. Words should be 16 point or larger.     Use advertising from magazines for words and photo images. No word should be less than ¼ inches from the margins. No computer-generated words or images. Judging will be based on originality of poem, neatness, overall presentation from 3 feet away. ON A COVER SHEET of ½ page or larger place first line of Eye-Poem,  name of student, school, and teacher, school location code and route (city schools), and email where winners can be notified. On the back of the Eye-Poem, visible to judges, indicate the grade. Stack all poems without names in one stack and cover sheets in the other. Teachers should send a cover sheet with the teacher’s email, and include all student cover sheets. Samples and rules are available at www.grandmotherearth.org.  Send entries to PST Student Chair, Frances Cowden, P. O. Box 2018, Cordova, TN 38088.

Teachers may also send class entries through board mail to Poetry Contest, Sarah Hamer, White Station Elementary. If you have questions, call Frances Cowden at 309-3692 or Patricia Smith at 725-5413. E-mail: gmoearth@aol.com or go to www.grandmotherearth.org.