Mount Island’s Lucy Terry Prince Prize
Submissions open December 1, 2019, through February 15, 2020
If you are not a poet, but know someone who might be interested, please re-share. This prize honors the life of Lucy Terry Prince who was an orator, activist, and first known African American poet in the U.S. This prize is being judged by celebrated poet Major Jackson who has authored five books of poetry collections and received a range of fellowships. Any individual who is a poet of color hailing from or living in a rural place is welcome to apply.
Interesting facts about the legacy of Lucy Terry Prince:
In addition to being an orator, activist, mother, the first known African American poet in the U.S., Lucy Terry Prince was a landowner with her husband Abijah in rural America at the height of slavery. Lucy and Abijah were within a constellation of African American land ownership. By 1910, freed slaves and/or descendants owned 15 million acres of land which pales in comparison to the less than 1% of rural land owned by African Americans today.
To learn more about Lucy Terry Prince, Major Jackson, and/or guidelines for this prize, please visit: Mountisland.com/lucy-terry-prince-prize/
