Humboldt Bay Chapter 56 of Veterans For Peace, Humboldt State University Secondary Education Program and the Humboldt Chapter of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship announced last week the Redwood Coast Peace Poetry Contest for all high school students of Humboldt County.

Authors of poems meeting the contest guidelines will be honored in an end-of-the-school-year public ceremony. Each author will be invited to read his/her poem and will receive a copy of the Redwood Coast Peace Poetry Anthology. Copies of the anthology will be donated to school and public libraries and will be available for purchase. In addition, five authors, selected by a panel of judges, will receive a cash prize of up to $200.

”Participants in similar events across the nation have helped to establish a “culture of peace” in their communities,” said Jon Reisdorf, co-chair of VFP’s Veterans Education and Outreach Project. “We also expect this contest to become a valuable resource for educators interested in the intersection of peace studies and the creative arts.”

Submissions should focus on peace; the abolition of war, hate, or violence; or peace-making in our communities. The format may be free style verse, rhymed or unrhymed poems of 50 lines or fewer, printed or typed on 8.5 x 11-inch paper. All work is to be completely original and unpublished.

Entries should be e-mailed to nslomba@reninet.com or mailed to: Veterans For Peace, Redwood Coast Peace Poetry Contest, P.O. Box 532, Bayside, CA 95524-0532.

Entries must include a single copy of the poem with the title at the top of the page. In the upper right hand corner include: Author’s name, parents’ or teacher’s name and telephone number, school affiliation or home schooled statement, and e-mail address.

Entries must be received not later than 5 p.m., Monday, March 8, 2010. For more information, see www.vfp56.org or contact Jon Reisdorf at (707) 822-4595 or jonreisdorf@hotmail.com; or Carl Stancil at (707) 616-6405 or carlstancil@gmail.com.

The Redwood Coast Peace Poetry Contest is supported in part by a grant from the Ivy Erene Hughes & Carl G. Lundgren Fund, a fund of the Humboldt Area Foundation. Submissions remain the property of the respective author. Veterans For Peace Humboldt Bay Chapter 56 is granted an unrestricted license for reuse at its discretion.