Poetry on the Move
“Invention”
Announcing the Santa Clara County Poet Laureate’s 2012 project, “Poetry on the Move,” a poetry contest supported by the City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, VTA, Arts Council Silicon Valley, and Santa Clara County to put poetry in public transportation. Winning poems will be placed in VTA light rail and buses next year.
Call for submissions:
Send your best poem, 50 words or less, that in some way relates to the contest theme, “Invention.” I’m looking for poems that celebrate who we are and what we do in Silicon Valley. Write about “Invention” as a subject or a theme, or think of your poem as an invention. In it, capture the spirit of “making new” that shapes our county.
These guidelines are to get you started writing. Poems of 50 words prove an ideal length to fill the transit “car cards” and still be read easily. I will post a few samples of poems that “fit” the 50 word limit on the blog [www.poetlaureateblog.org], but it’s up to you to find a way to envision the theme, “Invention.”
Here are a few ideas. Take your journal, ride VTA around the county, and see what inspires you out the window. Visit The Tech Museum or the Computer History Museum of Mountain View . Head to an art museum; attend a public performance; walk your city center. Read the Technology section of the paper; stay home and Google. Get inspired. Write. Invent something!
Submission Guidelines:
- One poem of which you are the author
- 50 words or less
- Relate your poem in some way to the theme, “Invention”
- Online submissions only; details described at a later date
- County residents only; please provide address to verify
- Final judging by an outside judge
- Five winners will have poems appear on car cards in VTA transit
- Writers acknowledge that poem format, not content, might be changed to fit car card dimensions.
- Runners-up will be posted on the Poet Laureate blog and participate in public readings as possible.
The open submission period and complete submission instructions will be announced early January, 2012. Stay tuned to updates here at http://www.poetlaureateblog.org
Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Blog 