Contests & Events Video Library
To encourage and support our area writers, we offer a number of different writing contests (with cash prizes!) for all ages. We also collaborate with area organizations to sponsor various writing events, including poetry slams, postcard writing campaigns, and even Little Free Libraries! Take a look at the videos below to see what's been happening.
"Saginaw, I Believe" Postcard Poetry Contest
During the winter of 2020, the Center for Community Writing, in conjunction with the Saginaw Community Writing Center and the Public Libraries of Saginaw, sponsored a Postcard Poetry contest. Individuals who live, work, or study in Saginaw County were invited to submit a short poem sharing what they believe about Saginaw's people, places, or history. Three winners received a $100 cash prize. The deadline for submissions was April 30.
2021 Theodore Roethke Poetry & Arts Festival
The five-day triannual Roethke Poetry and Arts Festival, supported by Saginaw Valley State University, various community organizations, and past funding from the Michigan Humanities Council, is tentatively scheduled for March 2021.
Our past festivals have included a variety of arts-center programming, particularly centered on the written and spoken word. Past events have included poetry readings, contests, and slams; choral and jazz concerts; interactive lectures and book discussions; and tours of the Roethke House in Saginaw.
Each triannual festival allows our region to celebrate Theodore Roethke, Saginaw’s native poet, the winners of the poetry prize, and all the people in the Great Lakes Bay region who value the power of the written word.
Our past festivals have included a variety of arts-center programming, particularly centered on the written and spoken word. Past events have included poetry readings, contests, and slams; choral and jazz concerts; interactive lectures and book discussions; and tours of the Roethke House in Saginaw.
Each triannual festival allows our region to celebrate Theodore Roethke, Saginaw’s native poet, the winners of the poetry prize, and all the people in the Great Lakes Bay region who value the power of the written word.
2020 Still Life Release Celebration
A release party and poetry slam for the 2019 edition of Still Life was held in February 2020 at the Saginaw Art Museum. Community members attended to receive copies of Still Life, read their published poems and listen to readings from other writers, and participate in a poetry slam. A video montage of this event is available through the Saginaw Art Musuem's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SaginawArtMuseum1947/videos/763279507414797
"Get to Work" Flash Fiction Contest
In 2018, The Public Theater pf New York came to Saginaw to do a one-night performance of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat, which tells the story of what happens in a midwestern auto-manufacturing town after the auto industry leaves. Because of our collaboration with The Public Theater on this project (and because we are a writing center that focuses on celebrating our community’s writing), we created a “flash fiction” contest. The theme was “Work.” We were interested in short pieces (500-750 words) that tell the story of work—your best job, worst job, first job, or whatever work might mean to you. Submissions were due, of course, on Labor Day, September 3, 2018.
