Submissions are open for the WCPA’s 2022 Poetry Contest: The Frank O’Hara Prize on January 1, 2022.!
Please read the Contest Guidelines below before submitting to the contest. Submissions will be accepted through Friday, April 30, 2022.
Paper submissions can be mailed to WCPA Poetry Contest, PO Box 804, Worcester, MA 01613.
2022 CONTEST JUDGE:
Usman Hameedi is our 2022 Contest Judge.
Usman Hameedi is a Pakistani-American scientist, poet, educator. He also serves on Mass Poetry’s Board of Directors. He earned his MS in Biomedical Sciences from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. During his graduate studies, he did additional work in medical humanities and volunteered in geriatric care at Mount Sinai Hospital. Neuroscience and oncology are his primary areas of scientific interest and expertise. Since 2008, he has competed in and coached for collegiate, national, and international level poetry slams. He was featured on The Huffington Post, Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, and The Story Collider: Storytelling for Scientists podcast. His first full-length collection is forthcoming in 2023 and will be published by Button Poetry. Usman was a Mass Poetry Artist in Residence and worked with students in Hyde Park and Salem. He has also worked with other educators on how they can incorporate poetry into their classroom communities. Usman is shaping his career around his missions and ideals. His proudest moments are helping others see the genius within themselves. So much of his journey is still to come!
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
To enter the WCPA’s annual poetry contest, you must be either…
- A resident of Worcester County, or
- A student or employee of institutions within Worcester County or
- A WCPA member in good standing
First Place winners of previous WCPA annual poetry contests are not eligible to enter.
CONTEST GUIDELINES:
- Email submissions will not be accepted. The only way to submit electronically is by visiting our Submittable page. There is an additional fee to submit electronically, even if you are a member of the WCPA.
- Poems must be the entrant’s original work in English and must not be previously published.
- Submit no more than THREE (3) poems in any form.
- Paper submissions must not be stapled or attached in any way.
- Poems must be formatted for 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper.
- Do not put your name on the individual poems.
- Include a cover sheet with your name, address, telephone number, and the title of each poem.
- Paper submissions can be mailed to WCPA Poetry Contest, PO Box 804, Worcester, MA 01613.
- Submissions will not be returned.
- Winners will be listed on the WCPA website and announced via our Facebook page. We will no longer mail out a list of winners, so please don’t send us a stamped envelope.
ENTRY FEE:
- There is no entry fee for WCPA members.
- Non-WCPA members: $8.00
- Make check or money order payable to Worcester County Poetry Association.
- Contest fees are waived if you join the WCPA or renew your membership with your entry. You can include a check with your submission or join/renew via our online store.
JUDGING & AWARDS:
- First Place: $100 – Second Place: $50 – Third Place: $25
- Winning poems will be published in The Worcester Review, after which all rights revert to the poet.
- Contest winners will be announced in June 2022.
- Winners’ Reading & Award Reception to be held in September 2022. Our preference is an in-person reading, however, we will adjust should the need arise as the reading date approaches.
- The WCPA Annual Poetry Contest does not pre-select poems: the contest judge sees all entries.