Tell all your friends--Pacific Standard poetry contest!

Here's an announcement I'm sending out today to several mailing lists:

Pacific Standard Bar

is pleased to announce

its inaugural Skirmish of Wits in Verse,

or,

Broadsheet Poetry Contest,

on the theme

"Making New York City Home."

Winner to be chosen by Philip Levine.

The prize is $250 plus broadsheet publication.

Deadline: April 1, 2007.

Further details follow.

_______________________________________________

We, the owners of Pacific Standard, a new literary bar in Brooklyn, can't think of any better way to christen our new watering hole than with honeyed lines. We'd like to make Pacific Standard a home away from home for both our patrons and our West Coast expatriate selves. So, for this contest, we thought it would be appropriate to hear how other displaced folks adjusted to the city.

The winner will receive $250, and will be published in our first beautiful limited-edition letter-press broadsheet, which will be sold at the bar. Four other finalists will be heartily commended and given free broadsheets and a $10 bar tab. Some or all of our finalists may be invited to read in our upcoming poetry reading series.

Entry Fee: $5, via check or money order payable to Pacific Standard, Inc.

Submission Deadline: Your entry must be postmarked by April 1, 2007. Winners will be named on our web site (see address below).

Rules: Please send us only one single-spaced poem of 30 lines or less. You may send a poem that is under consideration elsewhere, but we ask that you notify us immediately if it is accepted. We have no preference for style or subject matter, as long as your entry fits the contest's theme. We vow to be as fair as humanly possible, but we do admit that we are Brooklynites, and this is a Brooklyn bar, so we may be unconsciously biased towards Brooklyn-related poems. The contest is open to anyone, even people who don't live in New York City (but, obviously, you'd probably need some experience of the city to write a poem about it). Do not include your name on your poem; give us your contact information in a separate cover letter. Entries will not be returned; include an SASE if you'd like to receive a response from us.

Send entries to: Pacific Standard Poetry Contest, c/o John Rauschenberg, 214 14th St., Apt. 2, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Inquiries may be sent to fiatlux@pacificstandardbrooklyn.com.

About Us: Pacific Standard is a cozy, relaxed microbrew pub at 82 Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, slated to open in early April. We are committed to serving the local literary community with semi-regular readings, broadsheets, and a nice library. Read more about us at www.pacificstandardbrooklyn.com.