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Contests and Open Calls

Mass Poetry Community Awards

Do you know a Massachusetts-based poet who was named a literary winner or finalist in 2022? Do you know a Hidden Poetry Hero in your community? Do you know a poet who has not been properly recognized for their work? Mass Poetry wants to celebrate these individuals and their accomplishments at an unforgettable ceremony leading up to the 2023 Massachusetts Poetry Festival. This ceremony will give community members the chance to nominate their Hidden Heroes. These poets will have the opportunity to read from their stunning work and receive a well-deserved toast and round of applause. Deadline to nominate March 31st.  

Guidelines:

Literary awards, contributions, and accomplishments can be local or national, and may include but are not limited to:

Poets who have had a significant impact on their poetry community
Winning or being longlisted for a poetry award of any kind
Grant or fellowship award winners and finalist of any kind
Slam poetry winners or finalists of any kind
Poets celebrating significant publications of any kind
Poets who should be celebrated for other reasons not listed here!

Please make sure to provide details on the reasons for your nomination when filling out the form. Poets may be nominated by an individual or may nominate themselves. Nominate here.

The Community Awards will take place virtually on Saturday, April 29th at 7:00 PM.

Call for Slam Teams and Groups to compete at the 2023 Massachusetts Festival Poetry Slam

In partnership with Boston Poetry Slam, Mass Poetry invites you to participate in our Festival Slam competition which will take place at the 2023 Massachusetts Poetry Festival on Friday, May 5th in Salem, MA.  The Festival draws in thousands of attendees from across Massachusetts and beyond. This beloved event and Festival favorite will be a lead-up to the Regional Slam that will be hosted by the Boston Slam Team in June. As us Slammers know, oftentimes there are far more teams than there are available slots in a single slam competition; therefore, to make things as fair as possible we will extend this slam invitation to all teams and organizations (18+) in the Massachusetts area and will then select by a virtual Random Drawing who will compete. Whoever does not get selected will still have an opportunity to compete in the Boston Poetry Slam’s Regional competition.

Please view our guidelines below:

  • This slam competition will have 4 rounds with 5 competing teams.
  • 4 of the teams will be randomly selected via a virtual draw and 1 Pick-Up team will be formed on the day of the slam.
  • Each team must have 5 members.
  • All teams are welcomed! This included but is not limited to: Slam Teams representing a specific Slam Venue, College Teams, Poetry Collectives, etc. 
  • All members competing in the Slam must be 18 years or older by the time of the Slam

If you are interested in slamming or have any question, email the Massachusetts Poetry Manager: [email protected]