Be First

Poets who complain they get a raw deal compared with blue-chip novelists and artists, rejoice. Open Space, an outreach initiative of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies, and HarperCollins India have collaborated to organise a poetry contest on the theme “Borders” — and these could be between people, genders, classes, castes, cultures or nations. “We want to encourage reading and writing of poetry among the youth and promote the genre. With a theme like Borders, we are looking for varied interpretations,” says VK Karthika, chief editor, HarperCollins India.

Anyone above 18 years can enter the contest. You have to submit your original, unpublished (in print or online) poem in English on the given theme. The poem can be up to 50 lines long, and can be written in any style. The participant is required to pay a registration fee of Rs 100. The contest is to be judged by Keki Daruwala, Priya Sarukkai Chabria, CP Surendran and Karthika. The first prize is Rs 20,000, followed by Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 as the second and third prizes. The last date for submission of poems is November 30.

For contest details and to download the form log on to openspaceindia.org