The Troy Architectural Program, Inc. (TAP, Inc.) and Café Euphoria request poetry submissions for review for use as a mural on the south wall of TAP and/or a wall on the building of Café Euphoria during the month of June, Pride month. They are specifically calling on members of the creative LGBTQIA+ community to submit poetry for review. The selected poet’s work will be output on paper and mounted with wheat paste on one of the walls for the month of June.
This is a temporary installation on the brick wall. A press release about the poet and the selected work will be created and distributed to the community. This project is co-sponsored by the Hudson Valley Writers Guild.
Guidelines
- No more than 12 lines
- No more than 10 words per line
- Themes of pride and LGBTQIA+ are especially encouraged.
Please submit your poem with no identifying information on it to the following email address by Friday, April 28, 2023, midnight: pridepoems@gmail.com
In your email, please include your poem’s name, email address, phone number, and a short bio. In the subject line, please type “pride poem.”
This contest will be judged by Atsushi Akera, elizag, and EL Evelyn. This project is being organized by Nancy Klepsch, poet, and supported by Shawn McCann, TAP, Inc.
About the Judges
Atsushi Akera (she/her) is the general manager of Cafe Euphoria, a transgender / gender non-conforming owned and operated cafe located in Downtown Troy. She currently coordinates gallery operations at the Cafe, as overseen by a panel of local artists, and is in the midst of planning for, and inviting regional artists to help create a queer artist’s cooperative gallery out of the Cafe’s downstairs space. She is a historian by training, and has published books and articles on the subject of history of technology and engineering.
EL Evelyn (she/he/they) is a poet, activist and social worker from New Jersey who is currently living and loving in Albany NY. EL was the president of Phenomenal Voices, a performance art group at UAlbany in charge of two showcases per year, and is now the Community Engagement chair for the alumni performing arts group PV What’s Next. They were on the Capital Region slam poetry team, Capcity Slam, where they traveled around the country performing poetry in both features and competitions. They currently co-host Cafe Euphoria’s open mic and slam with elizag
elizag (they/them) lives in Cohoes where they write, paint, lead workshops and serve as a writing coach. Two books so far: Love Cohoes and Walk with Us (as Elizabeth K Gordon). Both available at Amazon and www.ekg3.com. They were a member of the capital district’s first slam team, the Nitty Gritty Slam, later representing New York City’s Urbana slam at The Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS). They recently began an open mic and slam at Troy’s Cafe Euphoria (first and third Fridays). Co-hosted with EL Evelyn. Paintings can be found at @Instagram — elizakwork.
