The Emily Dickinson Museum is now accepting proposals for our 2024 programs: Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series – a virtual event held monthly May-October AND the 12th annual Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, held September 23 – 29! The Museum’s poetry programming features established and emerging poets who represent the diversity of the flourishing contemporary poetry scene and fosters community by placing poetry in the public sphere.
To submit for the Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series and the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, please complete the submission form linked below and upload all required materials. Only submissions made using our online form and Dropbox folder will be considered. We will not accept email or paper submissions.
You may submit for one or both events using this form. To submit multiple proposals for a single event, simply fill out the form again. Those submitting proposals for both Phosphorescence and the Poetry Festival may use the form to apply with the same group or with different groups for each event.
TIMELINE:
All proposals must be submitted by Monday, February 26, 2024, 8am ET.
Phosphorescence Series submissions will be notified of their acceptance status by Friday, April 5.
Tell It Slant Poetry Festival submissions will be notified of their acceptance status by Tuesday, April 30.
Participating poets and presenters will be asked to sign a letter of agreement confirming participation on assigned dates.
This submission window is now closed.
Learn more about each program below.
About Phosphorescence
Produced by the Emily Dickinson Museum, the Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series celebrates contemporary creativity that echoes Dickinson’s revolutionary poetic voice. The Series is a place to connect virtually over a shared love of poetry and an appreciation for Dickinson’s literary legacy. This year, poets may read remotely from the location of their choice or travel to the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA, to have their reading live-streamed to a virtual audience. Poets will indicate their preference for reading location on their submission form.
Featured poets are promoted on the Museum’s event web page, through a mailing list of roughly 25,000 addresses, and through the Museum’s social media. Each participating poet receives a $200 honorarium. There is no fee to submit proposals.
READINGS: This program occurs at 6pm ET on the last Thursday of each month. Each reading may feature 2-3 poets. Readings are 15-20 minutes long on average per reader. Poets who submit alone will be paired with other poets if selected. Poets are welcome to promote sales of their books and awareness of other media during the program. (The Museum does not sell books for this series.) Poets should be prepared to engage in a facilitated conversation after their readings.
The following submission qualities are especially encouraged:
- Group submissions of up to 3 poets
- Builds community
- Features BIPOC and/or LBGTQ+ voices
- Highlights a connection to Dickinson’s life and legacy
- Pushes poetic boundaries
Only submissions made using our online form (linked at the bottom of this page) and Dropbox folder will be considered. We will not accept email or paper submissions.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Monday, February 26, 2024, 8am ET.
Phosphorescence submitters will be notified of their acceptance status by Friday, April 5. Participating poets will be asked to sign a letter of agreement confirming participation on assigned dates.
About Tell It Slant Poetry Festival
Produced by the Emily Dickinson Museum, the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival celebrates the poetic legacy of Emily Dickinson and the contemporary creativity she continues to inspire from the place she called home. The Festival’s name, “Tell It Slant,” pays homage to Dickinson’s poem, “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.” This title underscores the revolutionary power of poetry to shift our perspective and reveal new truths.
The Festival is a hybrid event, with programs happening in-person at the Museum as well as online, to both in-person and virtual audiences throughout the week of September 23-29. We invite you to “dwell in possibility” and submit your most inventive proposals for in-person or virtual, generative workshops and panels! Submissions for virtual programs should be for live, synchronous content only. Honoraria of $300 are provided per event. There is no fee to submit proposals.
View last year’s Festival schedule.
The Festival Steering Committee especially welcomes the following submission qualities:
- From groups of 2 – 5 facilitators
- Generative writing programs
- Creatively encourage audience participation or foster a strong sense of community
- Engage young attendees and/or those new to poetry
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Monday, February 26, 2024, 8am ET.
To submit for the Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series and the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, please complete the submission form linked below and upload all required materials. Only submissions made using our online form and Dropbox folder will be considered. We will not accept email or paper submissions.
You may submit for one or both events using this form. To submit multiple proposals for a single event, simply fill out the form again. Those submitting proposals for both Phosphorescence and the Poetry Festival may use the form to apply with the same group or with different groups for each event.
This submission window is now closed.
TIMELINE:
All proposals must be submitted by Monday, February 26, 2024, 8am ET.
Phosphorescence Series submissions will be notified of their acceptance status by Friday, April 5.
Tell it Slant Poetry Festival submissions will be notified of their acceptance status by Tuesday, April 30.
Participating poets and presenters will be asked to sign a letter of agreement confirming participation on assigned dates.
Please direct questions about submissions to EDMprograms@EmilyDickinsonMuseum.org.