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On Friday, January 31, Fairfield University will invite dozens of budding young poets to read from their award-winning poetry at the sixth annual Poetry for Peace Contest Winners' Celebration. The evening begins with a 5:30 p.m. reception before the awards ceremony and readings at 6 p.m. in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The public and the media are welcome to attend this special event.

 

More than 1,000 Bridgeport and Fairfield students entered the competition, which is sponsored by Fairfield University's Writing Center, the English Department, the Connecticut Writing Project-Fairfield, and the MLK Coordinating Committee. This event is held in conjunction with the MLK Holiday Observation Week, a weeklong celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s work and legacy.

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The winning poems are published in a book, which will be distributed to the children and their families at the event.

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The contest is designed to encourage discussion of how the imaginative and original language of poetry relates to the creation of peace. It gives young writers a chance to express their own concepts of peace through the creative act of writing.