Clarksville, Ark. --- Season six of "Project Poet," Ozarks annual poetry competition, got underway on Tuesday, September 6, with the announcement of the first poetry challenge.
The first competition in season six of Ozarks’ "Project Poet" competition will be held on Tuesday, September 13.
For their first challenge, contestants will write two poems, one about childhood, and one about everyday irritations. The first night of competition will be Tuesday, September 13, at 9:30 pm in the Black Box Theatre in Ozarks’ Walton Fine Arts Building.
Based on Bravo TV’s program "Project Runway," the poetry competition presents contestants with a new challenge each week. Contestants read their entries before the panel of three faculty/staff judges, and the audience, who acts as the fourth judge. When all votes are tallied, one contestant wins immunity for the next week’s challenge, while two or three others go "out of print." The contestants who make it through to each successive round are given more difficult challenges as the competition progresses.
Dr. Brian Hardman, Ozarks associate professor of English will again host the competition. The final five poets who make it through all the challenges receive a cash prize: the fifth-place winner will receive $50; fourth-place $75; third-place $125; second-place $250; and the overall winner receives $500, as well as the title of Poet Laureate of the Spadra Valley. University president Dr. Rick Niece and first-lady Shereé have donated the prize money for this season’s competition.
"Project Poet" began in 2006 as the brainchild of Ozarks’ professor of English, Dr. David Strain and his former colleague, Dr. Kendrick Prewitt. The competition challenges students to draw on their creative writing skills and their wit, and is open to students from any program on campus.
For more information about the competition, including details about each challenge and a list of the winning poets for each week, see http://students.ozarks.edu/studentlife/events/projectpoet/.
Topics: Student Events