Cape Cod 'Veterans for Peace' Call for Poetry

The Cpl. Jeffrey M. Lucey Chapter (Post 41) of Veterans for Peace is conducting its 23rd Annual poetry contest. Deadline for receipt by post or e-mail is 5 p.m. Fri., March 30, 2018, Eastern Standard Time. The contest is open to all Cape Cod and island poets.

Winners will be selected in 14 categories, across grades K-12 and adult entries. Judges will include Guyer Barn Poets of Cape Cod, teacher volunteers, and Veterans for Peace members.

Entries should be mailed to:

Veterans for Peace
c/o Nina Tepper
P.O. Box 102
West Hyannisport, MA 02672

First honors in each category will receive $25. Second honors will a $15 gift certificate from a local bookstore. Judges may also issue honorable mention certificates.

All winners will receive an awards certificate, a copy of a published book of all winning poems, and an invitation to participate in a public reading 10 a.m. Sat., April 28, 2018 at the South Congregational Church, 565 Main St., Centerville, Mass.

According to contest materials, poems should ideally focus on:

• Thoughts of peace and the abolition of war, hate, or violence.
• What people can do to create a peaceful world for all.
• Ways in which war can be avoided.
• Inner peace; how people can become peaceful within themselves; how people can faces "others" with mercy and forgiveness.
• Examples of non-violent attitudes and actions that lead to friendship, negotiation, social justice, and peace.

Details for submissions include:

• Each contestant may submit only one poem, no more than 50 lines, in free verse or rhyming, that focuses on themes of peace.
• Poems may be handwritten or typed, but they must fit on an 8.5x11-inch vertical page. The top of the page should include the title, author's name, and (for student entries) grade.
• The bottom of the page should include the author's name, poem title, grade, name of school, town, teacher's name, student address, phone number, and email. This information will not be published, but is important for contacting the winners.

A helpful template for formatting and prompting poems is available here at this link.

More information about the contest is available here at this link.

According to the chapter website, the mission of Veterans for Peace is to non-violently and democratically work with others to:


• Increase public awareness of the costs of war;
• 
Restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations;

• End the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons;

• Seek justice for veterans and victims of war and
Abolish war as an instrument of international policy.

The Cpl. Jeffrey M. Lucey Chapter is named after a 23-year-old Iraq War veteran and Belchertown, Mass. native who died by suicide June 24, 2004 after being discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps. The Veterans for Peace chapter was renamed in his honor in 2011.

Want to receive exclusive early-bird notice of military-themed writing opportunities, events, and markets? Join our community of practice for as little as $1 a month! Details here: www.patreon.com/aimingcircle.