College Level Contest
This Year's Contest Theme: I Shall Be Young With You!
John G. Neihardt was born in 1881 to pioneer parents who had traveled by covered wagon to Illinois and eventually settled in Nebraska. Neihardt described the times when he was growing up as being "on the watershed of history." In his writing, he preserved historical knowledge, informal details and sacred beliefs in works of literature ranging from epic, lyric and dramatic poetry, short stories and novels to travel writing and journalism As recorded in the dedication to Patterns and Coincidences, the second volume of Neihardt's memoirs, his message to younger generations was "I shall be young with you."
This Year's Contest Medium: Creative Non-fiction
This year's contest invites students to discover how Neihardt's poetry illuminates life today or the human condition through the medium of creative non-fiction.
Creative nonfiction is a way of bringing together many different sources (primary, secondary, statistical data) and perspectives that include that of the entrant to explore a topic in a multi-faceted way. In other words, get creative and connect Neihardt's writing, themes or subject matter with your own life experience or that of someone you admire.
Apply the creative nonfiction technique to Neihardt's lyric poetry - particularly "Hymn before Birth," "Child's Heritage," "April Theology," or "Let Me Live Out My Years" - in order to explore the relevance of Neihardt to today's world. Any of Neihardt's writing may be used as additional source material for the essay, creative nonfiction or scholarship. A selection of Neihardt's lyric poetry is available in The Giving Earth and also in Lyric and Dramatic Poems. After registering, contest participants will be provided copies of the poems, contest rules and manuscript guidelines.
For more information on creative nonfiction please visit this website, or this one.
Awards
- 1ST PLACE: cash award of $400, essay published in Great Plains Quarterly, permanent recognition with name inscribed on a perpetual plaque displayed at the John G. Neihardt Center State Historic Site, opportunity to present at the annual Neihardt Spring Conference, the annual literary event focusing on Neihardt's writing and life.
- 2ND PLACE: cash award of $200.
- 3RD PLACE: cash award of $100.
Timeline
- Contest announced fall 2007.
- Registration will begin online September 15, 2007.
- Entries may be submitted between January 1, 2008 to February 1, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. online at www.neihardt.com.
- Award letters will be mailed on March 1, 2008.
- Awards will be given the last Saturday in April, 2008.
Created on ... June 22, 2006