3rd Annual 'Heroes Voices' Poetry Contest is April 20, 2019

Organizers of the 2019 Heroes' Voices National Veterans' Poetry Contest seek original, unpublished poetry from U.S. military veterans of all branches and eras. Deadline is April 20, 2019. Full contest rules are here.

Up to four winners will be selected:

• First-prize is $1,000.
• Second-prize is $500.
• Third-prize is $250.
• Fourth-prize is $100.

This is the third year for the event, the recurring theme of which is "The Soldier's Journey." The 2017 contest received more than 200 submissions. Organizers say the theme incorporates all experiences during and after military service, including "personal triumphs and tragedies, relationships, health, spiritual insights, community, family, and social issues."

Winning selections from the 2017 and 2018 contests are posted on-line here.

Guidelines include:

• Submit up to three original, unpublished poems.
• Poems are limited to four pages each or 200 lines in length.
• 12-point Times New Roman typeface is preferred. Legible handwriting is acceptable. For electronic submissions of handwritten poems, scanned documents saved in Portable Document Format (PDF) are acceptable.

Submissions can be made via website here.

Or by U.S. Postal mail (see full instructions here):

Heroes’ Voices Poetry Contest
San Francisco Veterans War Memorial Building
401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 224C
San Francisco, California 94102

Heroes' Voices is a San Francisco, Calif.-based non-profit arts organization that focuses on veterans issues. According to the website:

Heroes’ Voices helps veterans build confidence and community by connecting them with the power of music and poetry. Veterans raise their voices together at our free workshops, build their skills with our free online guitar lessons, and find resources in their local communities through our on-line database. Launched in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are expanding throughout the USA.

Heroes’ Voices puts the transformational power of music and poetry to work for our veterans by:

• Creating opportunities for veterans to engage with music and poetry, in settings ranging from psychiatric wards to community centers.
• Building alliances with other veterans organizations to expand the use of music and poetry in their programs.
• Providing information and referrals for veterans interested in the arts.
• Promoting and sponsoring research into music therapy for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injuries.

Contest judges and advisors include:

• Ann Cahill, director of the John O'Donohue Literary Estate
• Rick Davis, Artistic Director of Theater of the First Amendment (TFA) at George Mason University
• U.S. Navy veteran, City Lights founder, and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti
• U.S. Army veteran and poet David L. Raab
• Mary Shea, poet and professor Kim Shuck, poet laureate of San Francisco

The contest is underwritten by the California Arts Council and from the Rotary Club of San Francisco. Culminating public events celebrating works generated by the contest are planned at George Mason University and the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Virginia.

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