Split This Rock Poetry Festival:
Poems of Provocation & Witness 2014
CALL FOR PROPOSALS:
Panel & Roundtable Discussions, Workshops, & Themed Group Readings
DEADLINE: JUNE 30, 2013
Submit via our online form:
Split
This Rock invites proposals for panel and roundtable discussions,
workshops, and themed group readings for our fourth national poetry
festival, scheduled for March 27-30, 2014, in Washington, DC.
The pioneering poet and activist Adrienne Rich, who died just a few days after the last Split This Rock Poetry Festival, wrote: When
poetry lays its hand on our shoulder... we are to an almost physical
degree, touched and moved. The imagination's roads open before us,
giving the lie to that slammed and bolted door, that razor-wired fence,
that brute dictum There is no alternative.
With
our world crying out for alternatives, and in honor of Adrienne Rich,
we welcome proposals that help us travel the imagination's roads: What is this new world to which we are traveling? How are poets and activists using poetry to get us there?
We
are especially interested in proposals that share lessons from
innovative projects at the intersection of poetry and social change;
that draw road maps based on the teachings of our foremothers and
fathers, living and dead; that help us cross boundaries of all kinds
that might be blocking our way along the imagination's highway.
We
invite you to read over the schedules of the first three festivals to
get a sense of the broad range of topics and approaches that appeal to
organizers. Visit www.SplitThisRock.org and click on previous festivals' "Program & Schedule" tabs.
PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
Split This Rock Poetry Festival:
Poems of Provocation & Witness
March 27-30, 2014, Washington, DC
Split This Rock calls
poets to a greater role in public life and fosters a national network
of socially engaged poets. Building the audience for poetry of
provocation and witness from our home in the nation's capital, we
celebrate poetic diversity and the transformative power of the
imagination.
Split This Rock Poetry Festival
invites poets, writers, and activists to Washington, DC, for four days
of poetry, community building, and creative transformation. The festival
will feature readings, workshops, panel discussions, youth programming,
activism - opportunities to imagine a way forward, hone our activist
skills, and explore the many ways that poetry can act as an agent for
social change. Learn more about Split This Rock and the festival at www.SplitThisRock.org.
CHOOSING A FORMAT
Panels/Roundtables - A
panel or discussion may consist of 3-4 persons, with one person
designated as facilitator. Please tell us what questions you wish to
explore: why is this conversation timely and necessary, how will this
panel further the goals of Split This Rock? How are the members of your
panel uniquely qualified to lead a conversation on your proposed topic?
We have a strong interest in interactive conversation and community
building, so please describe how you will involve participants in the discussion.
Workshops -
Please tell us exactly what you have in mind for activities and how
participants will benefit both at the festival and afterwards. A
workshop may be led by one person or collaboratively.
Themed Group Readings
- Readings might showcase voices or perspectives that could otherwise
be missing from the festival program. Please tell us if there is a
coherent theme or organizing principle for your reading that makes it a
natural fit for Split This Rock.
COMPLETING THE APPLICATION
This year we have switched to an online submission platform. Simply go to http://splitthisrock.submittable.com and click on the "2014 Festival Panel Proposals" category to submit!
Please title your proposed event, include brief biographical information for each participant, and provide a description of your event, using the online form.
Please note: Panel presenters must register for Split This Rock Poetry Festival.
(Past festival registration has been only $75, with a student rate of
$40. Given the ongoing recession, we are hopeful that we won't have to
raise rates in 2014.) Scholarships will be available so that all may
participate.
There is no limit to the
number of proposals you may send, but be sure all proposed presenters
have agreed to be part of your panel before you send it to us. Take time
to develop your proposal and bear in mind that this is a very
competitive process. (In the past we've had to turn away many strong
proposals.) We value diversity within the panels, creative ways of
interacting, ideas that are new to us. We also value history. Take a
look at the schedules of the past three festivals to see what kind of
discussions have taken place in the past.
One final note:
Split This Rock has a small staff without a lot of time for
double-checking information. Please follow these instructions carefully.
Remember:
- Give your proposed event a meaningful name.
- Provide FULL contact information for all your panelists/facilitators.
- Remind all panelists/facilitators that they will have to register. Generous scholarship funds will be available; we will post a simple scholarship application when festival registration opens.
- We regret that we don't have funds to pay panelists and workshop leaders.
Questions? Email us at info@splitthisrock.org. We look forward to reading your proposal!
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