The Lanier Library announces that the 2013 Sidney Lanier Award Poetry Competition is now in process and the deadline for entries to be received is Feb. 15.

Now in its fifth year, this annual competition seeks to encourage Carolina poets by offering both recognition and prizes for winning writers.

The competition has two categories: Adult, which includes college graduates and undergraduates, and High School Student. Prizes of $500, $200 and $100 are given in the adult competition and winning students are awarded prizes of $100, $50 and $25.

Former North Carolina Poet Laureate and Tryon’s own Cathy Smith Bowers will judge the competition and award prizes. The awards will be given out at a presentation at the Lanier Library in Tryon at 2 p.m. on April 27.
Winning poets will be encouraged to read their work at the ceremony, which will be followed by a reception at the library for the poets and their families and friends.

From its founding in 1890, the Lanier Library has sought to encourage the literary arts within Polk County and beyond.

The library is named for the American poet Sidney Lanier, whose short but highly productive life ended at his home in Tryon but lives on in his literary legacy.

For entry forms and additional information about the competition, please visit the Lanier Library’s Web site at www.lanierlib.org.

– article submitted by Frances Flynn