Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Local high school poets and storytellers are invited to participate in a creative writing contest sponsored by ¾¨Ó㴫ý’s Department of English.
Students can submit an original poem or piece of creative non-fiction. Poems should be an ode to a tangible object and a maximum of 24 lines, while non-fiction pieces should be no longer than 2,000 words and engage with one or more meanings of the word “heavy.” All entries should include a title.
All submissions, due by Tuesday, Oct. 1, will be evaluated by ¾¨Ó㴫ý faculty and students.
The top three participants in each genre will be invited to participate in a creative writing workshop on campus and will be invited to read their work at ¾¨Ó㴫ý’s annual Bleasby Colloquium on Tuesday, Nov. 19, when the first-place winners will be presented with the James Ashbrook Perkins Creative Writing Award.
The late Dr. Perkins, who passed away in 2022, taught English, writing and public relations at ¾¨Ó㴫ý from 1973 until his retirement in 2008. During that time, he served as department chair, won the Distinguished Faculty Award, earned four NEH fellowships, was a Visiting Fulbright Professor in Korea, and published widely as a poet, short fiction writer and literary critic.
The ¾¨Ó㴫ý George Bleasby Colloquia series of literary events is an event in honor of the late Dr. Bleasby, who chaired the ¾¨Ó㴫ý Department of English from 1954-1975. These programs are presentations by department faculty, featured speakers, and majors on individual scholarship, interests and creative projects.
Contest entries should be submitted to english@westminster.edu.
For more information about this opportunity and the Department of English at ¾¨Ó㴫ý, visit .
