S.C. Poetry Initiative to announce poetry and book contest winners April 11

The South Carolina Poetry Initiative will hold its 2009 Single Poem Contest and Book Contest Awards Ceremony at 2 p.m. April 11 at 80808 Vista Gallery on Lady Street.

The University of South Carolina event, free and open to the public, showcases a wide range of artistic expression, from studio art to poetry. Attendees can view the featured exhibits and hear the work of nationally renowned poets, as well as be on hand for the announcement of this year’s contest winners.

Judges are poets David Baker and Marjory Wentworth. Baker’s poetry collections include “Never-Ending Birds” (W. W. Norton, 2009), “Treatise on Touch: Selected Poems” (Arc Publications, 2007) and “Midwest Eclogue” (W. W. Norton, 2005). Wentworth, the South Carolina Poet Laureate, has published several collections of poetry, including “Noticing Eden” (Hub City Writing Project, 2003) and “Despite Gravity” (Ninety-Six Press, 2007).

The 2009 South Carolina Poetry Initiative’s Single Poem Contest is co-sponsored by The State newspaper.

For full details on the Single Poem Contest and Book Contest and guidelines for the contest, go to www.cas.sc.edu/engl/poetry/index.htm.