COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Poetry Initiative at the University of South Carolina is accepting entries for the state's fourth annual chapbook contest.

Chapbook entries must be postmarked no later than Sept. 30, and winners will be announced Oct. 11 at the Columbia Museum of Art. The celebration, which will be held at 2 p.m., will feature music, food, poetry readings and an open mic session.

The contest is open to adults 18 years of age and older. Submissions must be accompanied by a $15 non-refundable entry fee, payable to University of South Carolina Educational Foundation. Entries must be submitted on a CD or disk and mailed to South Carolina Poetry Initiative, University of South Carolina, Department of English, Columbia, SC 29208. Manuscripts must be between 20 and 28 pages in length. Poems may have been previously published in literary magazines but not together as a book or chapbook.

For complete contest rules, visit www.cas.sc.edu/engl/poetry/. For more information, contact Charlene Spearen, assistant director of the S.C. Poetry Initiative, at 803-777-5492 or cmspeare@mailbox.sc.edu.

Five chapbooks will be selected for publication, and 10 poets will be selected for Web publication. Entries will be selected and edited by Dr. Kwame Dawes.

The S.C. Poetry Initiative is in its sixth year and has become the state's premiere organization devoted to the art of writing, reading and hearing poetry. It is directed by Dawes, an English professor and poet at the university.

Special to The T&D

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