It is with deep regret that we’ve cancelled this year’s annual benefit for the Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center which was scheduled for April 5. It is more important that all our supporters and friends stay well and safe, so we are forgoing the benefit this year. We won’t be rescheduling, but we do hope to be back with shining colors and bells on in 2021.
Feb 29
Aileen Jaffa Young Poets Contest
Co-sponsored by MoSt (Modesto Stanislaus Poetry Center) and the National League of American Penwomen (NLAPW), Modesto chapter.
Read the complete rules and download the entry form HERE.
This contest is offered as a means of encouraging young writers throughout Stanislaus County and as a way to remember poet Aileen Jaffa, the founding President of the Poets of the San Joaquin and member of the Modesto Branch of the National League of American Pen Women.
See our Aileen Jaffa Contest page for details.
Deadline: 4th Annual Lee Nicholson-George Rogers Poetry Contest
MODESTO-STANISLAUS POETRY CENTER
THE FOURTH ANNUAL LEE NICHOLSON – GEORGE ROGERS POETRY CONTEST
CONTEST GUIDELINES
MONETARY PRIZES!!!
DEADLINE: MARCH 1, 2020
ABOUT LEE NICHOLSON AND GEORGE ROGERS
Beloved by generations of their students, Lee Nicholson and George Rogers dedicated much of their lives to teaching and inspiring the youth of our community. Lee Nicholson was an instructor at Modesto Junior College for thirty-two years, and had earlier taught at Turlock High School. A Modesto native, George Rogers taught for thirty years at Orville Wright Elementary School in Modesto. Both Lee and George were highly accomplished poets and lovers of the creative process, and both will long be remembered for their passionate devotion to the young people whose lives they touched.
This contest is open to all poets residing in Stanislaus County who are 16 to 25 years of age.
Send up to three (3) poems, with subjects and themes of your own choosing
Poems must be typed in 12 point, Times New Roman, with 1-inch margins
32 line limit; longer poems will not be considered
Poems must be the poet’s original work and previously unpublished
If sending through regular mail, please send two copies of each poem – one copy with the poet’s name, address, email, phone number in the upper right hand corner, as well as the title of the poem, and a second copy of the poem, with the title of the poem, but without the poet’s name, address, e-mail, and phone number.
If sending through email, send poems as doc or docx attachments (one attachment with page divisions is fine; three attachments with one poem each is fine); include two copies of each poem – one copy with the poet’s name, address, email, phone number in the upper right hand corner, as well as the title of the poem and a second copy of the poem, with the title of the poem, but without the poet’s name, address, e-mail, and phone number; include CONTEST in the subject line of the email.
2 ways to submit:
Through regular mail to:
MoSt Poetry Center
PO Box 578940
Modesto, CA 95357
or by email to info@mostpoetry.org
Include the word CONTEST in the subject line of your email.
PRIZES:
First Place (awarded for best poem): $100.00
Second Place: $60.00
Third Place: $40.00
Submission dates: November 1, 2019 to March 1, 2020
Poets will be notified via email or phone following the judging process.
Selected poems will be published in a chapbook. All poets submitting
poems will receive two (2) copies of the chapbook
For more information contact: info@mostpoetry.org
Deadline Poets’ Corner Contest: postmark date
The Modesto Poets’ Corner Contest is now accepting entries for 2020! This year’s theme is “Kindness and Connection: How do we help to heal the divisions between people, ideas and beliefs? How can we be kind, or make connections with each other, even when being compassionate is inconvenient, uncomfortable or even dangerous?” As always, don’t worry about answering all the guiding questions – they’re designed as a jumping-off point. Feel free to write about whatever kindness and/or connection means to you! And remember, we also accept poems on any topic of your choice in the general category. They do not have to be written recently, they just have to be unpublished.
Entries will be accepted via mail using the entry form below or via email at poetscornermodesto@gmail.com. All work must be postmarked by Saturday. March 7, 2020. Winners will be notified in a post here, on Facebook, and by email in April. We’ll have our annual winners’ reading on Sunday, May 3 at 1:00 p.m. in the McHenry Museum. Happy writing!
Words Worth Speaking: Brandon Leake and Angela Drew
The MJC Library & Learning Center and the MJC Black Student Union invite you to a poetry event at the East Campus L & LC.
Featuring performers Brandon Leake and Angela Drew.
Bring a poem to read + submit your work to the WWS zine.
Brandon Leake is an award-winning spoken word poet, artistic educator, and motivational speaker from Stockton, CA. His creative blend of art, charisma, and passion tailored to his own unique personal narrative has taken him across the world as a speaker and performer. Brandon has performed in New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and 36 states around the country for his Dark Side Tour which promotes his first published poetry chapbook and his album Deficients: A Tale From My Dark Side, a project rooted in transparency and healing. Brandon is also the founder and CEO of Called To Move – CTM, an arts organization whose mission is to aid youth in self-actualization and personal development through poetry. Through Called to Move, Brandon had led youth workshops around the world and in his hometown of Stockton.
Angela Drew is a teacher, mother, poet, and spoken word performer who has loved the rhythm of words for as long as she can remember. Born in Berkeley, CA, she began writing at age eight and has always understood that words have the power to soothe, stir, or solidify connection. Thus, her lifelong love affair with storytelling began. Angela has performed at various venues throughout the Modesto, Sacramento and Bay Areas, including Modesto Junior College, Modesto’s inaugural “Ill List Poetry Slam” at the State Theater, the Gallo Center for the Arts, in a Sankofa Community Theater production of The Journey—The African American Experience, and at various other venues. Her recent poetry is included in COLLISION VI, the February 2020 exhibit at the Mistlin Gallery which features poet-photographer collaborations