Submitted by the Friday Harbor Arts Commission

Friday Harbor will soon be the home of four poetry gardens. The town and the arts commission are establishing the new poetry gardens as a way of bringing poetry into our everyday experience. All of the poems on displayed in the gardens will be chosen from submissions to a contest that runs from Sept. 10-Nov. 30.

All islanders, including students, are encouraged to submit their best poem(s) display.

Guidelines

• Any form of poetry (e.g. free verse, prose, rhyme, haiku, lyric) may be submitted.

• Short poems are encouraged, and no poem should be longer than 20 lines, with a maximum of 10 words per line.

• All poems must be the original work of the entrant and can be previously published.

• Poems should be appropriate for display in a public space and an audience of all ages.

• An entrant may submit up to five poems, but no more than two poems per author may be selected.

• Two copies of each poem, as well as a cover letter, must be submitted. Each poem should be typed on an 8.5 x 11-inch paper in 12 pt. font, without the name of the author included. The cover letter should list the title(s) of the enclosed poem(s), the author’s name, grade (if a student), return mailing address, phone number, and e-mail.

Send poetry submissions to:

Poetry Garden Contest, c/o Friday Harbor Arts Commission, PO Box 219, Friday Harbor, WA 98250

By submitting your poetry, all contest winners agree to the public display and publication of their work. Winning entries will be announced by the end of January 2020. Selected poems will be professionally engraved on plaques and displayed artistically in one of several gardens located in the Town of Friday Harbor for a period of two years. The engraved poems will be then be returned to their authors.

All winning authors will be invited to attend a special opening ceremony, and a book of the displayed poems will be published and made available to the public at various locations throughout the islands.