Festival
The Poetry Society of Tennessee's (PST’s) 65th Annual Poetry Festival will be held virtually on Saturday, October 9, 2021, beginning at 1:00 pm Central Daylight Time (2:00 pm EDT). Once again, our virtual festival will be free, but registration for this event (to be held via Zoom) will be required. To register for the Festival, click here. Both members and non-members are welcome to attend festival!
We are pleased to announce our workshop leader will be Jeff Hardin, Professor of English at Columbia State Community College in Columbia, TN. Jeff is a graduate of Austin Peay State University (B.S. in English) and the University of Alabama (M.F.A. in Poetry). He is the author of three chapbooks and six collections of poetry; more than 600 of his poems have appeared in journals ranging from The Southern Review to Hotel Amerika; and he is an editor for the online journal One. Click here for Jeff's bio and a link to his webpage.
Jeff's workshop will be on apostrophe/address poems:
In poems, we get to do what we normally might not do in real life: talk directly to plants, animals, concepts, absent people, porch rails, the hollow in a tree where bees disappear, the taste of coffee in the morning when snow is on the ground, Li Po's empty boat, a hawk feather drifting past on a mountain stream. So many poems speak intimately and easily to people, places, things, and abstractions, and by doing so, perhaps something unique arises in our voices -- a certain kind of tone, a reach toward understanding, a prayerfully considered seeking beyond what we already know.
Our tentative agenda is shown below (all times Central Daylight Time):
1:00-1:15 -- Log-in and introductions
1:15-3:00 -- Workshop, Jeff Hardin
3:00-3:15 -- Announcement of PST Poet Laureate Award
3:15-5:00 -- Announcement and Reading of 65th Annual Festival Contest Winners
5:00-5:30 -- Society Announcements and Closing
Log-in information and additional details will be sent to all registrants. To register for the Festival, click here.
Contest
The 65th Annual Poetry Festival Contest is now closed, and judges are busy judging...winners will be announced at our festival on October 9th. Many thanks to all of our members and community business who have sponsored contests!
Winners will also be posted on this website.
Last Year's Contest
Still looking for prior year's results? Click on the links below!
64th Annual Contest (2020) Winners
63rd Annual Contest (2019) Winners
62nd Annual Contest (2018) Winners
First place winners are also published in Tennessee Voices, our annual anthology. See our publications page for information on how to purchase a copy!
Monthly Members-Only Contests
Looking for our monthly members-only contests? Please see our monthly contests page.
The Poetry Society of Tennessee's (PST’s) 65th Annual Poetry Festival will be held virtually on Saturday, October 9, 2021, beginning at 1:00 pm Central Daylight Time (2:00 pm EDT). Once again, our virtual festival will be free, but registration for this event (to be held via Zoom) will be required. To register for the Festival, click here. Both members and non-members are welcome to attend festival!
We are pleased to announce our workshop leader will be Jeff Hardin, Professor of English at Columbia State Community College in Columbia, TN. Jeff is a graduate of Austin Peay State University (B.S. in English) and the University of Alabama (M.F.A. in Poetry). He is the author of three chapbooks and six collections of poetry; more than 600 of his poems have appeared in journals ranging from The Southern Review to Hotel Amerika; and he is an editor for the online journal One. Click here for Jeff's bio and a link to his webpage.
Jeff's workshop will be on apostrophe/address poems:
In poems, we get to do what we normally might not do in real life: talk directly to plants, animals, concepts, absent people, porch rails, the hollow in a tree where bees disappear, the taste of coffee in the morning when snow is on the ground, Li Po's empty boat, a hawk feather drifting past on a mountain stream. So many poems speak intimately and easily to people, places, things, and abstractions, and by doing so, perhaps something unique arises in our voices -- a certain kind of tone, a reach toward understanding, a prayerfully considered seeking beyond what we already know.
Our tentative agenda is shown below (all times Central Daylight Time):
1:00-1:15 -- Log-in and introductions
1:15-3:00 -- Workshop, Jeff Hardin
3:00-3:15 -- Announcement of PST Poet Laureate Award
3:15-5:00 -- Announcement and Reading of 65th Annual Festival Contest Winners
5:00-5:30 -- Society Announcements and Closing
Log-in information and additional details will be sent to all registrants. To register for the Festival, click here.
Contest
The 65th Annual Poetry Festival Contest is now closed, and judges are busy judging...winners will be announced at our festival on October 9th. Many thanks to all of our members and community business who have sponsored contests!
Winners will also be posted on this website.
Last Year's Contest
Still looking for prior year's results? Click on the links below!
64th Annual Contest (2020) Winners
63rd Annual Contest (2019) Winners
62nd Annual Contest (2018) Winners
First place winners are also published in Tennessee Voices, our annual anthology. See our publications page for information on how to purchase a copy!
Monthly Members-Only Contests
Looking for our monthly members-only contests? Please see our monthly contests page.
Reelfoot Lake; Photo Credit, Lori Goetz
