ALABAMA STATE POETRY SOCIETY  ANNUAL 

JOHN AND MIRIAM MORRIS MEMORIAL CHAPBOOK COMPETITION

Deadline is May 31, 2020.

Winner receives $100 and 25 copies of his/her winning chapbook.  

How to enter:

1. You don’t have to be a current member of ASPS in order to enter this contest.

2. Submit 20-24 total pages of poetry, no more than one poem per page, however a single poem may continue for more than one page.

3. Include two title pages, one with author information, and one without.  Author information should appear on only one copy of the title page and nowhere else on the manuscript so that manuscript can be read blind.

4. No need for a theme, index, intro, or acknowledgement of previous publications unless you just want to include these.  Poems may be previously published if poet retains all rights. A table of contents can be helpful.

5. Send entry with $15 reading fee (made out to New Dawn Unlimited, Inc. and postmarked by May 31, 2020) to:

   New Dawn Unlimited, Inc.

   Morris Memorial Chapbook Competition

   1830 Marvel Road

   Brierfield, AL 35035

Previous chapbook winners can be purchased through New Dawn Unlimited, Inc at 1830 Marvel Road, Brierfield, AL 35035 for $5 each. 

A complete list is available at NewDawnUnlimited.com under the "chapbooks" button.

ASPS sponsors both Fall and Spring contests as well as the Morris Chapbook competition.  Info is available through the Muse Messenger newsletter or online at the Alabama State Poetry Society website..

A still from the video readings.

For National Poetry Month this past April, the pandemic put a stop to many readings and forced the poetry community to find other vehicles for celebration. Alabama State Poet Laureate Jennifer Horne did what she has often done in the past—she mobilized an effort from the grassroots and managed to create a gift for Alabama poetry lovers.

A Little Spark, A Love for Poems, and A Lot of Social Media

After deciding to honor Alabama poets by sharing a reading daily, Horne realized she would need to use social media. So she created an event, “Alabama Reads Poetry”, on Facebook, and invited the public to join her in reading a poem on their preferred social media and use the hashtag #ALreadspoetry. To quote:

“In the absence of getting to see people read in person, my hope is that this ongoing statewide event will generate a host of online poetry readings. I also hope that we'll keep using the #ALreadspoetry hashtag for future events and announcements to link our Alabama poetry community. Feel free to include a link if you have a new book. However you do it, that's the right way--just read us all a poem!”

Then Horne slowly, carefully, prodigiously read a poem each day and shared the reading on twitter from the Alabama Poet Laureate account.

To close out #NationalPoetryMonth, I'm reading a poem by former Alabama poet laureate Andrew Glaze, from his book "Remembering Thunder," published by @newsouthbooks. Thanks for a great month, everyone! #ALreadspoetry pic.twitter.com/TbAATNcFQ7

— @ALPoetLaureate (@ALPoetLaureate) April 30, 2020

By the end of National Poetry Month, Horne had created a all-over-Alabama digital archive of readings featuring the work of the following Alabama poets:

1. Andrew Glaze (see above)

2. Brian Voice Porter Hawkins

3. Ken Autrey

4. Carter Williams Martin

5. Bonnie Roberts

6. Emma Bolden

7. Ashley M. Jones

8. Daniel Blokh

9. Ramona Hyman

10. Jeanie Thompson

11. Jessica Temple

12. Charlotte Pence

13. Georgia Ann Banks-Martin

14. Deidra Suwanee Dees

15. Kwoya Fagin Maples

16. Mike Wahl

17. Anne Markham Bailey

18. David Kopaska-Merkel

19. Rodney Jones

20. Jerri Hardesty

21. Jennifer Horne

22. M. P. Jones

23. Lauren Slaughter

24. Sue Brannan Walker

25. Ramey Channell

26. Tina Mozelle Braziel

27. TJ Beitelman

28. Alina Stefanescu

29. Harry Moore

We are grateful and inspired by this beautiful collection—and yet another reminder why our state values and treasures our state poet laureate so much.