NOTE: THE DEADLINE FOR THIS CHALLENGE ENDED MAY 30, 2020. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED.
Dear families, I’m an author of fiction, poetry, essays, plays, and songs. To encourage creative writing during the school closures, I’d like to give back by inviting school-age students to participate in Mary Amato’s Poetry Post Challenge. Knowing that your work has an audience can be motivating. So, I invite school-age children, tweens, and teens to submit a poem to me. I will choose one poem every two weeks (three poems in all) to feature by publishing it via video on my Instagram and Facebook pages with comments from me about why I chose the poem.
Here are the rules.
1. Write a poem. Take your time. Read it aloud many times and revise it so that it is the best it can be. Check your spelling. I’m going to repeat: take your time.
2. Reading your poem to someone else can be a great way to test out your poem.
3. A parent (regardless of your age), must send the poem in the body of an email message using the parent’s email, following steps 4 and 5.
4. A parent must use this subject heading in the email: POEM AGE __(YOUR AGE). For example, if the poet is thirteen years old, the parent would write: POEM AGE 13.
5. A parent must copy and paste this sentence. I (NAME OF PARENT) GIVE MY PERMISSION FOR MY SON/DAUGHTER TO SUBMIT THIS POEM TO THE POETRY POST CHALLENGE. IF IT IS CHOSEN, I AGREE THAT THE POEM AND MY SON/DAUGHTER’S NAME CAN BE POSTED ONLINE VIA MARY AMATO’S INSTAGRAM/FACEBOOK ACCOUNT.
If you prefer only a first name to be listed if the poem is chosen, make that clear in your email.
6. If your poem is not chosen, do not assume it was because it wasn’t “good enough” or that I didn’t like it or that the one chosen was the “best.” As an author, I have had my work rejected many, many times. Understanding that your work may not always be chosen to be published by a particular publisher at a particular time is part of the learning process. I might choose a poem about sunflowers one week, not because it is “better” than any other poems, but because it happens to be raining that day and the poem pops with light. There’s luck involved in the publishing process, too. It’s called “right place at the right time.” Continuing to write even after your poem is not chosen builds the muscles of persistence and determination and will make you a stronger writer.
7. You may enter once per week until May 30.
8. Submit following these rules through the contact form. My Instagram is authoramato and my facebook is Author Mary Amato. My website has other resources for parents to use during these times. Stay safe and keep reading and writing!
Catch the videos of the Poetry Post Challenge I’m posting.