World’s Largest Youth Poetry & Art Contest Announced

River of Words (ROW), the world’s largest youth poetry and art competition, is accepting submissions to its 18^th annual environmental poetry and art contest, sponsored in affiliation with The Library of Congress Center for the Book. Young people in kindergarten through twelfth grade, from anywhere in the world, are invited to explore and interpret their own home grounds by creating poetry and/or art about the places they live. Students may enter on their own or under the tutelage of a teacher or youth leader, as part of a group. The contest is free to enter and entry forms may be downloaded from the organization’s website at http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/center-for-environmental-literacy/art-poetry-contest.

Grand Prize winners (eight in all), plus the ROW/KSOE Teacher of the Year will win a trip to the 2013 River of Words Youth Creativity Awards in San Francisco. The ceremony, emceed by ROW co-founders Robert Hass and Pamela Michael, will be held on April 21 at the San Francisco Public Library. Winners and finalists will have their work published in a widely-distributed anthology, River of Words: The Natural World as Viewed by Young People. In addition, an East Coast award ceremony, also emceed by Hass and Michael, will be held at The Library of Congress on May 7^th .

The contest accepts poetry in English, Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL). Entries in other languages will be considered if they are submitted with an English translation. Students may enter as many times as they wish. Entries from the US must be postmarked by December 1, 2012. Foreign entries must be received by February 1, 2013. Winners will be announced in March.

WHAT:        River of Words Youth Poetry & Art Contest
WHO:          Children and youth in kindergarten through 12^th grade (5-19)
WHEN:       US entries must be postmarked by Dec. 1, 2012, Foreign entries must be received by Feb. 1, 2013
WHERE:     Mail to River of Words, PO Box 5060, Moraga, CA 94575 USA

Winners and finalists will be selected by the following judges:

Poetry:                                             Robert Hass & Pamela Michael
Spanish Language Poetry:         Dr. Raina Léon
ASL Poetry:                                    Ella Lenz & Susan Rutherford
Art:                                                   John Muir Laws

Students in some areas may also win recognition at the state or regional level. River of Words has coordinators in almost thirty states, many of which provide additional instructional materials and teacher training. Some states also mount state ceremonies and publish state River of Words anthologies.

River of Words is a project of the Center for Environmental Literacy in the Kalmanovitz School of Education at Saint Mary’s College of California. The Center promotes education initiatives that integrate nature and the arts into K-12 classrooms. The ROW Project inspires children and youth to translate their observations about their local watersheds and environment into creative expressions in poems and paintings. It also trains educators around the world in how to incorporate nature exploration, science and the arts into their work with young people.