BCCC Poetry Contest Deadline Is Wednesday

Bucks County Community College is encouraging writers to enter the Robert Fraser Open Poetry Competition by Wednesday, Feb. 22. The contest honors the late director and founder of the Writing Clinic at Bucks County Community College.

“Fraser was a gifted teacher and remarkable poet who was an inspiration for many,” said Dr. Christopher Bursk, a poet, professor and director of the contest.  “His own writing was marked by an unshakable integrity, a true grace, an unflinching honesty, a commitment to the play of language and an abiding respect for the power of words.”

The winner receives $100 and the opportunity to read on the Newtown campus Friday, March 30, along with contest judge April Linder. Linder, invited this year to serve as the Robert Fraser Distinguished Visiting Poet, is the author of “Skin,” which won the Texas Tech Walt McDonald Award, and “Jane,” a modern retelling of the classic Jane Eyre.

In addition to honoring Fraser for his gifts to the written word, the competition also raises funds for the Rainbow Room of Bucks County, a center serving the needs of LGBT youth run by Planned Parenthood Association of Bucks County.

Writers must mail six original poems, a cover letter, and a $15 entry fee payable to Planned Parenthood Association of Bucks County. The author’s name must not appear on any of the poetry submitted. The cover letter must include the author’s name, phone number, mailing address and the titles of the six poems submitted.

The poems must be typed. The entire submission cannot exceed 12 pages. Poems can be previously published. None of the poems will be returned. Previous winners may not enter, though runners-up may. An anthology of poems from participants’ submissions will be available at the March 30 reading.  The top three runners-up will also be invited to read March 30.

Poems, cover letter and entry fee must be submitted by Wednesday, Feb. 22 to Dr. Christopher Bursk, Dept. of Language and Literature, BCCC, 275 Swamp Road, Newtown, Pa. 18940. 

For more information, contact Dr. Bursk at 215-968-8156. The Fraser Open Poetry Competition and March 30 reading are sponsored by the Wordsmiths Reading Series at Bucks.