The Claudia Ann Seaman Award was established in 1983 in Poughkeepsie, New York, by the Seaman family in memory of their daughter and sister, Claudia, a young poet. Originally created as a regional contest for Hudson Valley high school students, the Seaman Contest --- which awards the winner an cash prize of $500 and publication of her/his poem in the literary magazine HANGING LOOSE (www.hangingloosepress.com) --- went national in 1997 with the help of the Community Foundation of Dutchess County in New York State. The award also has the generous support of Barnes & Noble, host for an annual event called "Poets as Mentors." Three published poets read and talk about their work; the Seaman Poetry Award is presented, and the recipient reads the winning poem.

The poets who have served as mentors and judges for the Claudia Ann Seaman Poetry Award are Jack Agueros, Mary Jo Bang, Ana Castillo, Anne Caston, Robert Hershon, Bob Hicok, Anna Rabinowitz, Barbara Ras, Karen Volkman, Ellen Dore Watson, Molly McQuade, Nick Flynn, and Andrea Cohen. Prizes for young writers help affirm the viability of the writing life. To present a young writer with an award is to welcome them into the great conversation that is literature, and to assure them that writing is respected, valued, treasured. Writers write for all time as they preserve the past and the present and hope that their poems will be read in the future. To grasp the hand of the next generation is not so much an act of generosity but of survival. We need young writers and young readers to keep poetry and all that it reveals about life on earth alive.

HOW CAN I ENTER?...

The Claudia Ann Seaman Poetry Award is open to all students in grades 9 through 12 in the U.S.

Each participant may submit 2 poems.

The entry deadline is June 1, 2002.

Poems may be mailed to:

The Claudia Ann Seaman Poetry Award
Community Foundation of Dutchess County, Suite 201
80 Washington Street, Poughkeepsie, New York, 12601.
(845/452-3077)

or submitted through Teenreads.com via e-mail at: TalkBack@teenreads.com

Each entry must contain the following information:

*Student name, address, and phone number.

*School name, address, and phone number.

*Name of English or writing teacher.

For more information, contact Donna Seaman, 800-545-2433, ex. 5754; email: dseaman7@aol.com.