Saturday, January 2, 2010 - Wednesday, March 10, 2010

TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST
THE WALT WHITMAN BIRTHPLACE ASSOCIATION
IS PROUD TO PRESENT ITS TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST
The Walt Whitman Birthplace Association maintains and operates the Walt Whitman Birthplace, home of America’s greatest poet.  All contestants and poetry lovers are encouraged to visit the Birthplace.  School groups may participate in a variety of unique educational programs.

Theme:   THE MUSIC ALWAYS ROUND ME
Contest:  Write a poem using Whitman’s theme

THAT MUSIC ALWAYS ROUND ME
 
That music always round me, unceasing, unbeginning, yet long
untaught I did not hear,
But now the chorus I hear and am elated
A tenor, strong, ascending with power and health, with glad
notes of daybreak I hear,
A soprano at intervals sailing buoyantly over the tops of
immense waves,
A transparent base shuddering lusciously under and through
the universe,
                    Walt Whitman (1860, 1867)
                                   

There are many kinds of music: the music of voices, of instruments, of whales, chipmunks, goldfish, crickets at summer’s end, of redwing blackbirds (oh so many birds and beasts, fish and insects!!) of stars, planets, the wind, the water, the weather; like rain, tornadoes, snow and sunshine; of the night, the dawn, the purple dusk.

Read the rest of the poem to experience more of Whitman’s language, details, and ideas.  Remember to use images, similes and metaphors to show us your music.  Your poem should employ a longer line, like those of Whitman.

Search for unusual words and craft them into a poetry of sounds repeating initial or interior letters for alliteration and assonance.  Try to avoid end rhymes.  You are a poet!  Your imagination can hear the very real music around you as well as the secret silences of music in your mind.

With so many possibilities, your writing will be music in itself.  Enjoy the harmony. Good luck!


GUIDELINES

THEME: THAT MUSIC ALWAYS ROUND ME               
ELIGIBILITY: Students in grades 3-12   

ENTRANCE CATEGORIES:
Category A – Individual poem, grades 3-4
Category B – Individual poem, grades 5-6
Category C – Individual poem, grades 7-8
Category D – Individual poem, grades 9-10
Category E – Individual poem, grades 11-12
Category F – Class anthology, grades 3-4
Category G – Class anthology, grades 5-6
Category H – Class anthology, grades 7-8
Category I – Class anthology, grades 9-10               
Category J – Class anthology, grades 11-12
Category K – Multi-media
Category L – Individual anthology


FORMAT:
1.    Type or print any length poem up to 2 pages.

2.    Individual poems MUST have the following information on EACH page:
    poem title and entrance category
    entrant’s name, complete address, home phone number, age and grade level
    school name, complete address, school phone number, and teacher’s name
    for multiple entries by a teacher: poems must be noted by grade AND class period

3.    Class anthology MUST have the following information:
    anthology title
    title sheet with the entrance category, teacher’s name, grade, school name, school phone number and complete address
    the student’s name on each poem
    all poems should be in binder or book form
    for multiple entries by a teacher: anthologies must be noted by grade AND class period

DEADLINE:
Entries must be postmarked by MARCH 10, 2010

AWARDS:
    Winners notified by mail in mid-May.
    Awards ceremony: Sunday, May 30, 2010.
    Awards distributed at the annual Walt Whitman Birthday Celebration held at the Walt Whitman Birthplace.  This is Walt’s 191st birthday.
    First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention Awards will be given in each category.
    First place poems will be posted on the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association website.
    Individual entries will NOT be returned.
    To obtain a list of winners send self-addressed business envelope with two first class stamps.
    Awards held for pickup at the Walt Whitman Birthplace until July 5, 2010.  They will not be mailed.
    Winning and non-winning anthologies will be held for pickup until July 5, 2010.  They will not be mailed.

All submissions become the property of the Walt Whitman Birthplace and may be published online or in print.

The poems are judged by a panel of published poets selected by the Birthplace Trustees.


MAILING INSTRUCTIONS: POETRY CONTEST - Carolyn Diglio, Education Coordinator

Walt Whitman Birthplace Association
246 Old Walt Whitman Road
Huntington Station, NY  11746-4148       
(for additional information contact Carolyn Diglio at (631) 427-5240, ext. 113)