#27 Texas Shootings
ASSIGNMENT PURPOSE
The purpose of this assignment is to invite newly composed poems in response to the continuing acts of domestic terrorism and murder in schools and other public locations in Texas.
See an updated list of shootings here.
In times of crisis, stress, confusion, and an unpredictable future, we are well-acquainted with the power of poetry to help us focus our minds, calm our bodies, and strengthen our hearts for the comfort and benefit of others.
Texas Poetry Assignment requests poems that respond to one of these individual tragedies or some pattern related to these violent acts.
These poems might express the poet’s or subject’s range of emotions: confusion, fear, disbelief, outrage, grief, empathy, despair, and anxiety.
These poems might take on the persona of the shooters or victims.
These poems might also express the poet’s desire to bring clarity, hope, connection, and peace to our minds and hearts.
See also this Texas Observer article by TPA contributor Kathryn Jones on the Uvalde massacre.
EXAMPLES
Poems published so far in this series will be linked here.
FORMAL INTERESTS
We are specifically interested in poems that demonstrate careful attention to the elements of shape, line, music, comparison, and balance, and especially how those choices contribute to the cooperative harmony of structure and sentiment in the poem.
Poems that do not meet these interests may be declined. For more on this perspective, see the five formal causes of beauty in poetry.
We also challenge you to consider new choices you might take in audience and poetic form as it pertains to aspects of narrative perspective, shape, sound, repetition, and enjambment.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Poetry submissions should be saved in Microsoft Word document format and composed in Times New Roman, 12-point font. They should be attached to an email to editor@texaspoetryassignment.org and include within the body of the email a brief cover letter and a 50-word biography.
ACCEPTANCE AND PUBLICATION
This call is open and ongoing. Poems will be published upon acceptance.
PUBLICATION RIGHTS
Writers will retain all rights to their work published on this site.
