Furious Flower Poetry Center
In honor of national poetry month, and in acknowledgement of the unusual circumstances we find ourselves inhabiting, Furious Flower is hosting a "Quarantine Kwansaba" contest! Invented by Eugene B. Redmond in 1995, the Kwansaba is a poetic form that honors the seven days and seven principles of Kwanzaa, and embraces the praise poem roots of the South African tradition. It is a non-rhyming poem that consists of seven lines, each of which is composed of seven words. No word can be longer than seven letters (unless it is a proper noun). The winner of the Quarantine Kwansaba Contest will be selected by Furious Flower's Executive Director, Dr. Joanne Gabbin, and will receive a $100 prize and a copy of the Furious Flower 25th anniversary chapbook (valued $200). To submit, please send your poem and contact information in the body of an email to furiousflowerpoetry@gmail.com.
We've moved our program online!
Celebrate National Poetry month and stay connected with our Facebook Live Reading Series. Join us, Fridays at 2:00 pm, on the Furious Flower Facebook page to hear outstanding poetry and conversation with exceptional Black poets.
Celebrate. Educate. Preserve.
The nation's first academic center for Black poetry, Furious Flower was established on the James Madison University campus to serve creative writers, literary and cultural scholars, and poetry lovers everywhere.
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Furious Flower Poetry Center
