UB Contest Seeks Entries from High School Poets

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The College of Arts and Sciences at the University at Buffalo is sponsoring a poetry contest for high school students as part of its increased efforts to introduce high school students to UB and its College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).

The contest has been initiated by CAS Dean Uday Sukhatme, who launched a similar poetry contest for high school students at the University of Illinois at Chicago when he served as interim vice provost for academic affairs.

The UB poetry contest is being initiated hand-in-hand with a Cutting Edge lecture series for high school students and their parents that will begin in March and feature CAS faculty members.

Entries in the poetry contest will be judged by Carl Dennis, artist in residence in the UB Department of English and winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his eighth book of poetry, "Practical Gods."

Cash prizes will be awarded to first- ($200), second- ($100) and third- ($50) place winners. Four fourth-place winners will receive $25 gift certificates. Twenty-three honorable mentions also will be awarded. The winning works will be printed in a special program and all winners will receive an autographed copy of "Practical Gods."

Winners will give poetry readings at an awards ceremony to be held at 1 p.m. April 5 in the Screening Room of the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. A reception will follow.

The contest is limited to current high school students; each student is limited to one entry of an original poem. The entry must be in English, 25 lines or fewer and typed in a 10- or 12-point font on a single sheet of paper.

Entries must be submitted by mail with a completed entry form, a link to which may be found at http://www.cas.buffalo.edu/cutting-edge/pages/poetry.html.

Entries must be postmarked by Feb. 7 and mailed to Michele Bewley, UB Poetry Contest, University at Buffalo, CAS Dean's Office, 810 Clemens Hall, Buffalo, N.Y. 14260.

E-mail or fax submissions will not be accepted. Winners will be notified by mail no later than March 21. Entries will not be returned, nor will comments on entries be offered.