Friday, November 14, 2008

Open Space Poetry Contest

nov 14th, 2008

any pseudo-secular reading this is welcome to write poetry moaning about "bad, bad" borders. throw in some wah-wahing about wagah and i think you have a winning recipe. and oh, please send in rs. 100 along with your crummy poem.

personally i think borders are a good thing. good borders are the only thing that would keep the barbarians at the gates (eg. chinese, pakistanis, bangladeshis) from overrunning us.

i don't think these guys sent this to me because of my pellucid poetry (which it would be, pellucid that is, if i ever wrote any). they wanted me to give it some publicity. so here is the free publicity. i am happy to help pseudo-seculars spend their time and money.

you may find it hard to believe, but i have actually hosted poetry-reading sessions, when i invited people to potluck dinners. it was like, bring dessert and a poem. i swear. honestly.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Open Space <listmaster@infochangeindia.org>
Date: Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 8:58 PM
Subject: Open Space Poetry Contest
To:



 The Open Space–HarperCollins Poetry Contest 2008

 (On the theme of 'Borders')

 Open Space and HarperCollins India have collaborated to organize a
poetry contest to encourage the reading and writing of poetry and to
promote the art of poetry, especially among the young. The theme for
the contest is Borders --borders between people, genders, classes,
castes, cultures, nations. The last date for submission of poems is
November 30, 2008.

 Open Space promotes and facilitates discussion, debate and
citizens' action on issues related to social justice, human rights
and sustainable development in India. Open Space is the civil society
outreach initiative of the Centre for Communication and Development
Studies, which also manages the leading online resource base
http://www.infochangeindia.org
. HarperCollins is a leading international publishing house.

 Prizes:

 1st prize – Rs 20,000 (rupees twenty thousand only)

 2nd prize – Rs 10,000 (ten thousand only)

 3rd prize – Rs 5,000 (five thousand only)

 Judges:

 Keki Daruwala is a poet and a leading figure in Indian poetry in
English. A recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and Commonwealth
Poetry Award, Daruwalla has so far published about 12 books.
 VK Karthika is the Chief Editor, HarperCollins Publishers India Ltd.

 Priya Sarukkai Chabria is a poet and novelist, and Editor of the
website Talking Poetry. Her second collection of poems Not Springtime
Yet (HarperCollins) was recently released.
 CP Surendran is a poet, journalist and columnist. He has written
four volumes of poetry: Gemini II, Posthumous Poems, Canaries on the
Moon and Portraits of the Space We Occupy. His debut novel is titled
An Iron Harvest.

 How to enter:

 Write a poem on the theme of 'borders' (interpret the subject
broadly, as borders between people, countries and cultures). The poem
may be up to 50 lines long, written in any style.
 The competition is open to anyone above the age of 18 and writing in
English.
 The poem must be original and unpublished in any print or online
forum.
 A contribution of Rs 100 (one hundred only) is to be paid to
participate in the contest. This contribution is payable in Indian
rupees only and by bank demand draft only. The draft is to be payable
to 'Centre for Communication and Development Studies'
 Only one entry per individual will be accepted.
 Each poem must be printed on one side of an A4 sheet.
 Each page must be numbered and must include the title of the poem.
 Please send two copies of your poem.
 The competition will be judged 'blind'. Please make sure your
name appears only on the entry form. The entry form is to be
downloaded from http://www.openspaceindia.org
.

 The decision of the judges will be final.

 Copyright for the shortlisted and winning poems will be shared by
the poets, Open Space and HarperCollins. The top ten poems will be
published online on Talking Poetry and the HCP site. All winners will
be notified by email. The contest ends November 30, 2008 and all
winners will be announced in January 2009.

 Send your poem, entry form and contribution to:

 Open Space Poetry Contest

 Centre for Communication and Development Studies

 301, Kanchanjunga bldg.

 Kanchan Lane,

 Near Krishna Dining Hall,

 Off Law College Road

 Pune - 411004

 Bank Demand Drafts to be drawn in favour of:

 'Centre for Communication and Development Studies'

 PLEASE NOTE:

 No copies of poems will be returned and no correspondence with
judges can be entered into.
 Entries without the entry form and contribution will not be eligible
for the contest.
 Email any queries about the contest to: rakesh@openspaceindia.org
<mailto:rakesh@openspaceindia.org>
 However, NO entries will be entertained online. They must be sent in
hard copy.
 Prizes are nontransferable.
 Poems submitted must not have been published previously in books or
magazines and must be original to the person submitting them.
 The closing date to enter the contest is November 30, 2008.
 Winners will be announced in January 2009.

 http://www.infochangeindia.org
 is managed by the Centre for Communication and Development Studies
(CCDS). CCDS is a social change resource centre that works to
strengthen civil society and research and disseminate information
related to social justice and sustainable development.


No comments: