MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA POET LAUREATE CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE: June 15, 2008

In Feb. 2008, a 650,000 square foot state-of-the-art center for the diagnosis and treatment of heart, vascular and digestive diseases opened on the campus of the Medical University of South Carolina. This hospital features a diverse collection of works that were competitively selected from a broad range of South Carolina artists. MUSC now wishes to augment this visual arts display with accompanying poetic works.

Marjory Wentworth, SC Poet Laureate and a committee of MUSC faculty and staff have been engaged to acquire work by South Carolina poets for public spaces of this building, as well as patient rooms, examination areas, staff only areas, and the hospital web site. Accepted poems will be included in a chapbook that will be available to patients and staff. Selected lines, phrases and poems will be displayed in select areas of the building.

For guidelines and more information, click here ...

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Volume 2 of the literary magazine of Burke High School’s ninth and tenth grades has been published
For more information about "For the People Who Deserve a Voice," click here

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Local High School Students
To Compete in "Poetry Out Loud" Contest
Lowcountry Regional Competition Feb. 17, 2008 at The Charleston County Main Library

Charleston, S.C. – Students from eight Lowcountry high schools will compete in "Poetry Out Loud", a poetry recitation contest, on February 17, 2008 in Charleston. The winner will advance to the state-level competition in March and that winner will compete in Washington, D.C. in April.

This regional contest is sponsored by the Lowcountry Initiative for the Literary Arts (LILA), in collaboration with the South Carolina Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation. "Poetry Out Loud", created in 2005, encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. State arts agencies bring the program to each state, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. More than 150,000 students participate each year.

LILA's mission is to nurture and promote the literary arts in South Carolina. It is dedicated to developing programs that enrich the area's literary communities and to diversifying the opportunities open to students, writers, and readers. It approaches this goal by connecting, educating, and promoting writers and readers at every stage of development – from the novice to the professional.

The contest will be held at the main Charleston County Library (68 Calhoun Street) on Sunday, February 17, 2008, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm . This event is free and open to the public.

For further information, contact Susanna C. Brailsford at the South Carolina Arts Commission at (803) 734-8639. Or visit www.poetryoutloud.org

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