2022 EXPLORE Chicago Collections Consortium Poetry Award

Making History Come Alive through Words

Are you inspired by your city or your neighborhood?

Are you creative with words?

Are you excited by history?

Do you enjoy the power of words written and spoken?

Excite your curiosity and creativity by browsing EXPLORE CHICAGO COLLECTIONS — an online portal of images and information about the history and culture of the Chicagoland area — and writing a poem inspired by what you find.

From architectural firms to social justice organizations, performing arts troupes and zoos, from artists, activists, and immigrants, to entrepreneurs, politicians, and sports figures, EXPLORE CHICAGO COLLECTIONS captures the people, places, institutions, and events that have made the Chicago area the great global metropolis that it is today.

In celebration of its 10th Anniversary, the Chicago Collections Consortium, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation and the Chicago Public Library Harold Washington Library Center, is launching an annual poetry award for high school students in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. We invite you to be a part of this exciting new program!

Come to EXPLORE — Leave Inspired!

Get Started

First, identify a topic that inspires you about the Chicago area (ex. your neighborhood, buildings, lakefront, people, etc.); browsing the EXPLORE CHICAGO COLLECTIONS portal can help with ideas.
Search the EXPLORE portal for additional content to help flesh out your poem.
Put into words what you find and what has excited you about your topic

Submission Guidelines

Who: Open to Chicagoland high school students between the ages of 13 to 19 who live in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.

What: One poem per student inspired by or illustrated by content found on the CCC’s EXPLORE CHICAGO COLLECTIONS.

Entries must be the original work of the student submitting the poem.

Evaluation process: Submissions will be judged by a panel of representatives of the Poetry Foundation, the Chicago Collections Consortium, and poet educators. Evaluation will be based on originality and connection to content in the portal. All judges’ decisions are final.

Award recipients will be notified in May 2022.

When: An awards ceremony honoring winning poets will take place in late May at Chicago Public Library Harold Washington Library Center and will be open to the public. More to details to come!

Awards: Five (5) poems will be recognized with an award of $100.00 each.

Submission Form

All entries to the 2022 EXPLORE Chicago Collections Consortium Poetry Award contest must be submitted by Friday, April 22, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
Limit one original poem per student. Poems have a limit of 50 lines. Blank lines between stanzas are not counted.
Poems must be submitted as a pdf or Word document.
Identifying information such as name, grade level, and age should not appear on the poem itself.
All entries must be the original work of the young person submitting the poem. Chicago Collections Consortium has a no-tolerance policy for plagiarism.

First Name * *

Last Name * *

Age *

Age * *

Pronouns

Other (Please specify)

Email * *

Please use an email other than a Chicago Public or Private/Parochial School email address.

Phone * *

Neighborhood you live in * *

School * *

Grade * *

Parent or Guardian Name

How did you hear about this opportunity?

Inspiration* *

Please share your source of inspiration including a link from EXPLORE CHICAGO COLLECTIONS portal showing an image or source that supports your poem.

Poem Title * *

Upload Your Formatted Poem * *Select File

Note: PDF and Word formats work best; image files will not be accepted; identifying information such as name, grade level, and age should not appear on the poem itself.

I agree with the following: *

Chicago Collections Consortium is under no obligation to entrants whatsoever if their submissions are not selected as winners.

Chicago Collections Consortium is under no obligation to award any or all of the five (5) winners where it is determined that quality has not met the standards of the Awards.

Copyright remains with the author. All individual contributors to the 2022 EXPLORE Chicago Collections Consortium Poetry Award retain the right to submit their work for non-exclusive publication elsewhere. But by submitting your work, you are giving Chicago Collections Consortium and its partners the non-exclusive right to publish your work in any format, including print, electronic, and online media.