Moving Words Adult Poetry Competition
UPDATE: the Moving Words program is on hold for 2012, due to changes in Metro policies that have decreased the amount of available poster space. The hiatus provides an opportunity to reassess the program and consider ways we can strengthen interactions between the poetry community and the public.
ELIGIBILITY
Poets who live within the DC Metro transit area (the Northern Virginia counties Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun and the cities Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church; the District of Columbia; and the Maryland counties Montgomery and Prince George's) and who are over 18 years old are eligible to enter. Poets who have previously been selected for Moving Words must wait two years before submitting entries again.
GUIDELINES
1. Poems must be 10 lines or less, including stanza breaks (but not including the title).
2. All poems must be typed; each poem must be submitted on a separate sheet.
3. DO NOT put your name on poems. Include one separate sheet with your name, address, phone, e-mail address, and the poem titles in the order in which they appear.
4. If submitting poems by email send only Word docs or PDF files. Poems submitted in the body of an email will not be accepted.
5. Poets may submit up to 3 poems for consideration. There is no reading fee.
6. Excerpts from longer poems are eligible, but the poet must provide only ten or fewer excerpted lines. Do not send the full poem.
7. Previously published poems are eligible, but the author must own copyright for poems that have been previously published.
8. Poems will not be returned.
DEADLINE
The deadline for submissions is late January each year. All entries must be received on or before the deadline. Entries may be submitted by mail or email:
Email: movingwords@arlingtonva.us
Mail: Moving Words
Arlington Cultural Affairs
3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive
Arlington, VA 22206
JUDGES
Judges are professional poets from the DC metropolitan area.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS
Six poems will be selected for display in Northern Virginia buses from April through September. Winning poets will receive a stipend and will be invited to give a public reading of their work. Winning poems will be posted on this site and will be archived on the Arlington County CommuterPage.com website.
ABOUT
MOVING WORDS is a program of the Cultural Affairs Division of the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources and is sponsored by the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services Commuter Assistance Program and METRO.
For more information please email movingwords@arlingtonva.us