www.irishfest.com/festival/atthefest/contests/poetrycontest.php

Milwaukee Irish Fest is now accepting submissions for the Donn Goodwin and Joseph Gahagen Poetry Prizes.

The Donn Goodwin prize is named after a Wisconsin poet, linguist, and educator who was active in supporting Irish and Irish-American writing and poetry. An award of $100 will be given to the winning poem. This contest is open to all.

The Joseph Gahagan prize of $100 will be awarded in memory of the man who served as poetry consultant to Irish Fest for many years and was a lecturer in the English department of the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. Only current residents of Wisconsin are eligible for this prize.

The awards will be given to the entries best reflecting Irish or Irish-American poetry traditions. While the poems do not necessarily need to have direct Irish or Irish-American themes, the winning entries should have a cultural/literary relation to either Ireland or Irish-America.

Submission Rules

Each contestant should submit no more than one poem; however, Wisconsin residents may submit one poem for each contest.

Entries must be received between June 15 and August 1, 2009. All entries must be typewritten and mailed. No handwritten,faxed, or e-mail submissions will be accepted.

Each entry should have a cover sheet that contains the poet’s name, address, telephone number, and/or FAX and/or e-mail address. It should indicate whether the poem is being submitted for the Goodwin or for the Gahagan Prize, and it should be stapled to the entry. The poet’s name or other identifying information should not appear on the poem.

Each entry should be the poet’s original work and should not have appeared previously in any publication.

No entries will be returned. Contestants are urged to keep copies of their submissions and to put a clear return address on the envelope in case of non-delivery.

Send entries to Irish Fest Poetry Contests, c/o Milwaukee Irish Fest, 1532 Wauwatosa Avenue, Wauwatosa, WI 53213. The deadline is August 1, 2009.

Winners will be announced on the Hedge School stage at Irish Fest at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 16, during the poetry events. All entrants who are present will be invited to read their poems. The names of the winning poems and poets will be posted on the Irish Fest Web site (irishfest.com) by September 1 , 2009. Winners who are within the Milwaukee area during this year’s Irish Fest (August 13-16 ) will be notified by August 10 and will be sent free tickets and invited to read their poems at the Fest. Irish Fest is held on the Maier Festival Grounds (Summerfest) on the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee.