Call for Poems: National Poetry Month 2021 at Dead Poet’s Espresso

Call for Poems: National Poetry Month 2021 at Dead Poet’s Espresso

**Submissions are open March 12-27 — send us your poems today!**

Calling all QC poets! Dead Poets Espresso & the Midwest Writing Center are partnering to feature local poets’ work during April, which is National Poetry Month.

The selected poems will be featured at Dead Poet’s Espresso (1525 3rd Ave A, Moline, IL) throughout the month of April. If enough submissions are received, additional poems will be selected and rotated throughout the month.

The selected poems will also be included the Midwest Writing Center’s annual Writer’s Block e-magazine and have the opportunity to be featured on their website and social media platforms. Selected poets will also receive a poetry chapbook from MWC Press, and have the opportunity to read at a virtual SPECTRA Reading Series event in April.

Anyone residing in MWC’s six-county service area is eligible (Henry, Mercer, and Rock Island in IL; Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott in IA), and there are no age restrictions. There is no theme or content requirement. Poems will be selected by MWC staff, volunteers, and Board members.

Here are the complete guidelines:

  1. Poems will be displayed on single 8.5” x 11” pages. As such, submitted poems must be single-spaced, and must be no longer than 21 lines total
  2. Only one poem per submission
  3. Include contact info in the body of the submission email (name, mailing address, preferred phone number, email)
  4. All submissions must be made via email; MS Word document or Google Doc attachments preferred (no PDF, please). You can also paste the poem into the body of the email, but attachments are preferred to preserve formatting
  5. Please include a brief bio (max 50 words), written in the third person, and please include links to social media/PayPal/Venmo/etc.
  6. Submissions must be received by Saturday, March 27. Selected poets will be notified by email

All submissions should be sent to: midwestwritingcenter@gmail.com

Please contact Ryan Collins at MWC with questions: 309-732-7330, mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org

More information about National Poetry Month, from the Academy of American Poets: “Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and, of course, poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives. In 2021, the Academy of American Poets looks forward to celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of this annual celebration!”