Nicolet College invites public to participate

In celebration of April as National Poetry Month, Nicolet College is holding its 7th annual Poetry Project.

Community members, along with Nicolet students and staff, are encouraged to submit their original poems to be posted on the college’s online Poetry Project blog during the month of April.

“There’s a real pleasure in reading poetry and in sharing the creative experience of writing poems,” said Ocie Kilgus, project organizer and English and Spanish instructor in Nicolet’s University Transfer Liberal Arts program. “With the Poetry Project, we wanted to create a platform for people to come together to read what others have written and also to submit their own works. We encourage anyone who is interested to participate.”

The details and guidelines of the Poetry Project can be found online at nicoletpoetry.blogspot.com.

Throughout the month Kilgus will post poems on a daily basis. Aspiring poets interested in submitting works can email them to Kilgus at okilgus@nicoletcollege.edu.

Anyone submitting a poem is asked to include their name, the title of the poem, and a comment about the poem or themselves. Poems can also be submitted anonymously, if the writer desires.

At the end of the month, instructors in the college’s University Transfer Liberal Arts program will select two poems, one from a student and one from a community member.

The winning student will be awarded the $300 Ron Parkinson Poetry Matters Student Scholarship. The community member will receive dinner for two at the Church Street Inn, Hazelhurst.

Poets are also invited to read and share their poems at an open mic event at 7 p.m., Friday, April 21, at ArtStart in downtown Rhinelander. The event is free and open to the public.

Both the student and community member winners will be honored at the student awards ceremony in May and will be invited to read their winning poems at the event.