PB POETRY FESTIVAL Launches 10th Annual High Poetry Contest for Local High School Students

Sept. 10, 2013 - PRLog -- PALM BEACH POETRY FESTIVAL

Launches 10th Annual Poetry Contest for Local High School Students



Original Poems Should Be Submitted to PBPF1@aol.com by December 1, 2013



(Delray Beach, FL – September 9, 2013)  Just as local schools start up for another year, Miles Coon, Director of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, and Blaise Allen, Ph.D., the Festival’s Director of Community Outreach, are announcing the launch of the annual High School Poetry Contest.



Between now and December 1, any Palm Beach County public or private high school student can submit one original poem (30 lines maximum) for consideration.



The winning poet will receive $100 and a pair of tickets to the 10th annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival, which will be held next January 20-25 at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square. The upcoming Festival will offer readings and talks by 13 of America’s most engaging and award-winning poets, including Natasha Trethewey, the current United States Poet Laureate.



The four runner-up high school poets will each receive $25 and a pair of tickets to the Coffeehouse Performance Event on January 25, showcasing celebrated poets Taylor Mali and Glenis Redmond. In addition, all of the prize-winning poems will be posted on the Festival’s website (www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org).



The judge for the annual High School Poetry Contest will once again be Dr. Jeff Morgan of Lynn University’s Department of English.



Original poems should be submitted by email before December 1 to: PBPF1@aol.com. For contest rules, please visit www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org.



In addition, local students are invited to attend The Palm Beach Poetry Festival Annual High School Performance Poetry Project, featuring poets Mali and Redmond, on Friday, January 24 at 10:15 a.m. at Spanish River High Auditorium, and 1 p.m. at Wellington High Auditorium. There will be no charge for these events. Students may attend either performance but must obtain permissions and transportation. To reserve seats for students, please contact drblaiseallen@aol.com.


About the Palm Beach Poetry Festival 2014:  
The 10th annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival will be held January 20-25, 2014 at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts. The Festival will once again feature about a dozen top poets at numerous ticketed public events, including readings, talks and a lively panel discussion.  In addition, participants in the festival’s eight poetry workshops will read at several open mics, free to the public. Tickets will go on sale to the public later this year through the festival website and at the Crest Theatre Box Office at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts.

The Palm Beach Poetry Festival is generously sponsored by Morgan Stanley, the Windler Group of Morgan Stanley’s Atlanta Office; the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach County Tourism Development Council and the Board of County Commissioners of Palm Beach County; The Palm Beach Post; WLRN 91.3FM; and Murder on the Beach, Delray Beach’s independent bookseller.

The Palm Beach Poetry Festival has received several prestigious awards in recent years:
+ 2013: A Small Business Grant from VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official source for travel planning.
+ 2011: The Muse Award for Outstanding Arts & Cultural Organization (budget under $500,000) from the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.
+ 2010:  An Arts Challenge Grant from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

For more information about the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, please visit www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org.


AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW:                          

Dr. Blaise Allen

954.729.8007  /  drblaiseallen@aol.com



MEDIA CONTACT:

Gary Schweikhart, PR-BS, Inc.

561.756.4298  /  gary@pr-bs.net