FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2018
CONTACT: publicaffairs@culture.nyc.gov; 212-513-9323
FOR “POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY,” NEW YORK CITY ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE #POETWEETNYC POETRY CONTEST
Five winning #PoetweetNYC entries were selected by a panel of judges led by First Lady Chirlane McCray & published in Metro New York
NEW YORK—On Thursday, April 26, New York City hosts the annual “Poem in Your Pocket Day,” a citywide celebration that encourages all New Yorkers to appreciate poetry and highlights the importance of literacy during National Poetry Month. Throughout the month of April, organizations have held poetry events across the five boroughs, and on April 26, all New Yorkers are encouraged to carry a poem in their pocket to share with friends, family, and colleagues.
The City partnered with Metro New York to host the ninth annual #PoetweetNYC Twitter poetry contest from April 16 to April 20. @NYCulture and @NYCMayorsOffice received dozens of #PoetweetNYC submissions over the course of the week. The five winning entries were published in Metro New York on April 26. This year, in honor of both Earth Day (April 22) and the 40th anniversary of the City’s Materials for the Arts program, submissions focusing on sustainability and the local environment were encouraged. Contest winners will also receive a reusable mug, bottle, or bag supporting the GreeNYC B.Y.O. Pledge.
The panel of judges that selected this year’s winning poetweets included:
· Chirlane McCray, First Lady of New York City
· Jennifer Benka, Executive Director, Academy of American Poets
· Mark Chambers, Director, Mayor's Office of Sustainability
· Tom Finkelpearl, Commissioner, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
· Alice Quinn, Executive Director, Poetry Society of America
“This year’s #PoetweetNYC winners capture the humor, passion, and love of language that our twin themes - Poem in Your Pocket Day and Earth Day – inspired in Tweeters from NYC and beyond,” said NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl. “Congratulations to our esteemed group of Twitter poets published in today’s paper, and to everyone who entered. These pocket-sized verses would be ideal to carry around today – as would any poem that moves us to think and to celebrate poetry with our friends, family, and neighbors.”
2018 #PoetweetNYC Winners
@Dream_Yard
Winter overslept, hit snooze 3 times over.
But from glass and brick caves, the city awakes to
Daffodil sunbursts and evergreen clover.
Rub your sleepy eyes,
The cold fog replaced by crimson Hudson River skies. #PoetweetNYC
http://twitter.com/Dream_Yard/status/986960504798285824
@lenalandwill1
#PoetweetNYC I found one man's trash turned it to treasure/an aluminum crown adorns me as I run towards forever/another's empty box became my sacred trove/what they discard/I mold into art and let natural beauty rove.
http://twitter.com/lenalandwill1/status/986026115625111554
@stardogstudio
Treetop tenements
My loud neighbors, The Sparrows
(The chattering class)
john morse, 2015 #haiku
#PoetweetNYC
http://twitter.com/stardogstudio/status/986047712289173504
@ZSicardi
Compost: Your dinner’s ghost
Haunting a plant with carbon’s past
Allowing it to boast.
Take an oath to growth and cycle what we sow
Or low and behold, you’ve trifled all we know.
Almost, ever growing close
To seeing the freeing of seedlings vast
Honoring our host.
#poetweetNYC
http://twitter.com/ZSicardi/status/986436885613547520
@browngirlcu
Haiku RT for Earth Day and #PoetweetNYC
Garden = Church:
Stained earth hands divine
a host of revelations
Beckoned by the light
http://twitter.com/browngirlcu/status/986010085892730881
For additional Poem in Your Pocket Day activities, ideas, and events, follow the #PocketPoem hashtag on Twitter.