State Poet Laureate Stewart seeks submissions for upcoming publication

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BROOKINGS – Christine Stewart, a professor in the South Dakota State University Department of English, was named the South Dakota Poet Laureate by Gov. Kristi Noem in May.

Stewart, in her role as the Poet Laureate, seeks submissions of poems by South Dakotans about people, landscapes and cultural life of the state for the publication “South Dakota in Poems: An Anthology.” Submissions also will be considered for publication on the South Dakota State Poetry Society’s website: sdpoetry.org. 

The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2020.

Submission criteria include:

Poems should speak to cultural life in South Dakota: histories, people, places, landscapes, traditions, languages, habits, attitudes, etc.;

Author should have strong ties to South Dakota; must be a current resident or previously lived in South Dakota for at least five years. Please note this in submission bio.; and

Unpublished/retained rights: These poems may have been previously published, but author needs to retain the rights or attain permission for republishing.

Selection criteria include:

• Accessibility and depth;

• Excellence in craft;

• Cultural significance of subject or theme;

• Residential ties; and

• Contributes to the anthology which, holistically, reflects the diverse voices of South Dakota.

Submit one to three poems in one Word document (.docx or .doc) to https://sdsps.submittable.com/submit by March 1, 2020. In a cover letter, write a brief, third-person professional biography (75 words or less) that includes a description of the author’s residential tie to South Dakota.

This project is supported by the South Dakota State Poetry Society and the South Dakota State University Department of English. Questions can be directed to Stewart at christine.stewart@sdstate.edu.