Get Your Collins Poetry Residency Application in by April 1st

Broadside by Aubrey Jane Ryan, 2013 Poet-in-Residence
Broadside by Aubrey Jane Ryan, 2013 Poet-in-Residence

The Midwest Writing Center is currently seeking applications to be the Fall 2015 Collins Poet-in-Residence. The Collins Poetry Residency is established in honor of the Richard Collins family and their contributions to and encouragement of poets and poetry in the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities and the Upper Mississippi River Valley.

The residency supports community-based poetry and a regional poet who has not yet published a full-length poetry collection and who resides in the six-county Quad City area (Rock Island, Henry, Mercer in Illinois; Scott, Clinton, and Muscatine in Iowa). The residency is coordinated by the Midwest Writing Center and will take place between September-November 2015. Applications are being accepted January 1, 2015 through April 1, 2015.

The application requirements for the 2015 Collins Poet-in-Residence are as follows:

1. Cover page, including your name, address, preferred email and phone number.

2. Introduction/Bio: Introduce yourself and tell us about your experiences as a reader and writer of poetry, and anything you think might be relevant to your poetical experience, be it work, education, travel, publication; no more than one (1) page.

3. Writing sample: five (5) of your strongest, most representative poems.  No more than one (1) poem to a page, no more than 10 pages total.

4. Residency Proposal: What are your goals for the residency? How do you plan to promote poetry (your work and the work of others) during the residency? How would you like to help grow the poetic community in the Quad Cities and surrounding areas? Limit proposal to 2 pages, double-spaced.

5. Your availability for September-November 2015, with as much detail as possible. Resident must participate in/host at least 2 readings (at least 1 in Illinois, 1 in Iowa), visit at least 2 schools (at least 1 in Illinois, 1 in Iowa), conduct at least one poetry workshop, edit/curate a poetry blog during the residency at communitybasedpoetry.blogspot.com, and launch a limited-edition broadside of a single poem, to be published by MWC Press.

In addition to the limited-edition broadside, the Collins Poet-In-Residence will also receive a stipend of $250 and travel reimbursement up to $100.

To apply via mail—Drop off or send 3 copies of all application materials (double-sided photo copies OK) to:

                Collins Poetry Residency Application
Midwest Writing Center
225 East 2nd Street, Suite #303
Davenport, IA 52801

Include SASE for notification.  Manuscripts will be recycled at the conclusion of the residency; please save a copy for your records.

To apply via email—Send application in a single file attachment to mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org (accepted formats: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .otd, .rtf).  The subject line should read as follows: “Application for 2015 Collins Poetry Residency”

Please contact Ryan Collins at the MWC if you have any questions about the application process.

The Collins Poetry Residency is generously sponsored by 918studio (www.918studio.net)