POETRY IN THE PARK
The 3rd annual Tom Lee Poetry Contest Opens During Black History Month. For the first time, the contest invites adults to participate alongside a competition for Memphis high school students.
As it celebrates Black History Month on the river, Memphis River Parks Partnership is encouraging adults and high school students to express their creativity and honor a local hero by entering the Tom Lee Poetry Contest. New this year, adults 18+ in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas can participate in the contest, in addition to high school students in Shelby County, to whom the contest is open for the 3rd consecutive year.
Now through March 31st, poets, spoken word artists, rappers and other literary hopefuls can submit their original pieces that should be inspired by Tom Lee and the qualities of courage, generosity, selflessness and community he exemplified. All participants will compete for cash prizes, among other perks, and winning students’ teachers will also score a cash match.
“We dreamed up this contest as a way to keep the spirit of Tom Lee alive, as we know there’s a little bit of him inside all of us,” said Jasmine Stokes, director of programming and engagement for Memphis River Parks Partnership. “Our hope now is that through this art, adults and students alike will remember and honor his kindness, courage and selflessness, and be inspired to become a new generation of heroes in our community.”
Students representing public, private, charter and municipal high schools submitted more than 100 works to the contest last year. The winners hailed from White Station, Memphis Business Academy, Hutchison, Crosstown, Germantown and Central High School.
Last year’s winning poem, “The River Cries,” was written by Ana Hunter, now a Hutchison graduate, attending the University of Southern California. Stanford University sophomore, Aayush Jain, won the contest during its inaugural year as a senior at White Station. These students, among many others, made it hard for our official contest judge, Marcus F. Wicker, to choose a winner.
“Each year I’ve been inspired by the sheer dynamism and range of poetic modes showcased in the winning entries—from self-portraits to sonnets, spoken word and hip-hop songs—all of them penned with an ethos that would make Tom Lee nod his head in affirmation, ‘yes,’” said Marcus F. Wicker, Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellow and University of Memphis Associate Professor of English. “The 2024 iteration of the contest will offer adult contenders $1,500 and inclusion in The Pinch, the University of Memphis’ acclaimed literary magazine housed in the English Department. If the first couple of years is any indication, I’m preparing myself to be awe-struck by a wave of beautiful writing!”
Winners will also be invited to perform their winning pieces at the 6th annual Tom Lee Day celebration, May 8 (more details to follow). And to get those creative juices flowing, The Partnership will host a FREE workshop March 2, 1-2:30pm for high school students led by published poet, Jeanine Jones.
The 3rd Annual Tom Lee Poetry Contest is sponsored by Mellon Foundation, which also supported A Monument to Listening, a commissioned public artwork by world-renowned artist, Theaster Gates, who created a space that is sacred, reflective and ripe for healing. The Foundation also commissioned theGrammy-nominated poet, J. Ivy, to create a beautiful poem that honors Tom Lee and his legacy.
