The winners of the 2010 Contest are:
Awards were presented at 2 p.m. on May 1, 2010 at the Glendale
Branch Library, 6101 Keystone Ave., Indianapolis, IN.
The Etheridge Knight Poetry Contest for young people was established in
conjunction with the annual Etheridge Knight Festival that honors the
work of the acclaimed African American poet Etheridge Knight and to
further as established to honor the work of acclaimed African American
poet Etheridge Knight and to encourage understanding of the things in
life that troubled him and that he held dear.
Open to students in grade 7-12, who reside in Indiana.
Poems may be submitted by individuals or by teachers. (Teachers: please submit only the best work of your students, not the work of an entire class.)
Each entrant may submit no more than three poems.
Each poem should be typed on a separate sheet of paper and should include the entrant’s name, address, phone number, e-mail, age, grade in school, and name of school. If submitted by a teacher, the entry should also include the teacher’s name and contact information.
Entries must be postmarked no later than April 10, 2011.
Poems will be judged on originality, voice, imagery, rhythm, effective use of language, and the degree to which they present a thoughtful perspective on Etheridge Knight’s life work, and/or the issues that concerned him.
Teachers are encouraged invited to make use of the curriculum provided on the Writers’ Center of Indiana website, which is designed to help student writers focus on issues that Etheridge Knight explored in his work. www.indianawriters.org
Students may choose their own topics, or work with one of the suggested topics and/or poems provided on the website.
Entries should be submitted to:
Writers’ Center of Indiana
P.O. Box 30407
Indianapolis, IN 46230-0407
Questions about the contest should be directed to barbarashoup@indianawriters.org
the skin
of my poems
may be green, yes
and sometimes
wrinkled
or worn
the snake shape
of my song
may cause the heel
of Adam & Eve
to bleed…
split my skin
with the rock
of love old
as the rock
of Moses
my poems
love you
—Etheridge Knight
(317) 255-0710 . mailing address: P.O. Box 30407, Indianapolis IN 46230-0407 . street address: 812 East 67th Street, Indianapolis IN 46220