Organizing your writing life

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: This post is more for the Atlanta and Georgia poets who are familiar with the city's subway system, MARTA. Last year, I was asked to be a consultant for a digital poetry project being created by Georgia Tech. Funding is still being obtained, but the first part of this project is a series of poems inspired by the various subway stations, many of which are architecturally stunning or located in historic areas. Today, I went over to the Tech campus and recorded my poem about Peachtree Center Station -- the first recorded for the project. Over the summer, I will be filmed inside the station for a video that will accompany my poem. I'm excited to be working with Karen Head and the other folks at Georgia Tech making this project happen. Finding new ways to bring poetry to the mainstream -- I'm all over it.

While I can't post my poem, I can tell you that Peachtree Center was my first choice to write about. I write about my memory of first riding the train and riding up the 190 foot long escalator (the longest in the southeast), which seems to go almost vertical. The station itself is deep under downtown and the walls are made of solid granite, which has been left exposed. It's really impressive. That's a photo of the platform above.

So, here's the call, folks. Get writing!

A group of designers at Georgia Tech are working on a multi-media project and are looking for poems about each of the MARTA stations. Poems should "center" on the station, the area around that station, and/or the connections to/from that station. Ultimately, we want one poem per station on the entire rail line. Poets who are selected will be asked to come to GT and record readings of their poems which will be a part of this larger public multi-media presentation. There will be no payment beyond "exposure" which will be quite extensive. Beyond the multi-media project, Dr. Karen Head will be editing an anthology of the poems tentatively titled Atlanta Rail.

We already have poems for the following stations, so we looking for poems about any of the other stations. Already "taken" stations:
Peachtree Center
Avondale
CNN
Inman Park
Kensingston
East Lake
Decatur
Arts Center
Oglethorpe/Brookhaven

If you have previously submitted, you may contribute again if the poem is about another station.

Guidelines:
Two-minutes (reading time) limit. Any form/style. For the recorded version, no strong profanity. For the print version (if someone is interested in having two versions), no restrictions on language/content. Please include a cover page with contact information, including email address. Manuscripts will not be returned, so there is no need for SASE.

Submit to:
Karen Head
School of Literature, Communication, and Culture
The Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0165