Nielsen Poetry Contest Open for Submittals

Nearly thirty years ago, Pat Herold Nielsen and her husband, Ed, worried about the deteriorating state of the Chester River, gathered a group of concerned citizens and founded the Chester River Association, dedicated to the restoration of our precious resource. Among all her other passions, Pat was a great lover of poetry and a gifted poet as well. In her honor, CRA initiated the annual Pat Herold Nielsen Poetry Contest to celebrate the River. This year is our Fifth Award and will take place on Wednesday, March 5 at 6:00 at the Bookplate, Cross Street, Chestertown. Refreshments will be served, the winners announced, and the winning poems will be read. The stage will then be opened to members of the audience to read their own poems. The Kent County Arts Council will provide a musical interlude.

This year’s judge is Chestertown’s own Mary Wood, poet, writer, and conservationist. Her new book is “A Swim Before Lunch”.

First Prize is $100. plus a printed broadside of the winning poem in hand-set letterpress limited edition. Second Prize is $50.

Here are the submission guidelines:

Deadline for submissions Feb. 14, 2014
Entrants must be 18 or older and residents of Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties
Poems must be unpublished and not previously submitted to this contest.
Length should not exceed one page.
Subject matter should reflect some aspect of the Chester River or a river and its environs.

Submit up to 3 poems in typed manuscript or electronic form. Include name, address, and phone number on a separate page. E-mail submissions should be attached in a Word file or pasted into the body of the message. Do not include identifying information on poems themselves.

Go to our website, chesterriverassociation.org for more information.

Mail poems to

Meredith Davies Hadaway
Rose O’Neill Literary House, Washington College
300 Washington Ave, Chestertown MD 21620
E-mail poems to [email protected].