In an effort to celebrate the work of local high school poets and gauge the interest of prospective UB applicants, the College of Arts and Sciences recently announced the start of an annual contest with cash prizes.
UB Artist in Residence Carl Dennis, whose book "Practical Gods" earned the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, will judge the contest.
CAS Dean Uday Sukhatme, originator of the poetry contest, ran a similar program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The competition drew potential students from surrounding areas both to read poetry and check out the university.
"Many people had heard of (the University of Illinois at Chicago) yet had never visited, and then, years later, it turned out that many students had enrolled at the university because they came and liked what they saw," Sukhatme said.
The first place winner will receive $200, the second place winner will receive $100, the third place winner will receive $50, and a $25 gift certificate to Borders or Chapters will be awarded to four fourth place winners. Twenty-three honorable mentions will also be noted.
All winners will receive an autographed copy of Dennis's book and have their poetry printed in a collected volume.
Dennis, who began writing poetry as a student in high school, said his love of writing grew over time.
"I belonged to a poetry group in high school that was very important to me," Dennis said.
The opportunity to work with distinguished faculty was the motivator behind his involvement with the club, said Dennis
"The best English teach or the most inspiring English teacher was the sponsor for this writing group called 'Pen in Hand,'" he said. "And all the people I admired in the older classes were involved in it."
Sukhatme said he expects the response to the contest to mirror the success he experienced in Chicago.
"My Illinois experience was 1,500 (participants) every year," Sukhatme said. "It started out around 400 the first year, then climbed to 900 the second year, before it saturated around 1,500."
All entries for the contest must be postmarked by Feb. 7. Thus far, Sukhatme said the Buffalo community's response has been positive.
"We received 50 poems (Jan. 15), and it's not even close to the deadline, so who knows?" Sukhatme said.
Contest winners will present their poems at 1 p.m. April 5 at the Center for the Arts Screening Room.
Sukhatme said the event was an educational outreach program paired with "The Cutting Edge Lecture Series," a set of lectures given by UB professors and alumni from various fields of study.
The lectures are open to the general public but, like the poetry contest, are aimed at drawing prospective students to the academic halls of UB.
Sukhatme said high school principals could also nominate students of outstanding achievement to attend these lectures.
In the hopes that high school students would be compelled to wake up early on Saturday mornings to attend the lectures, Sukhatme said students who attend three or more of the lectures will receive an "Honorary CAS Scholar" certificate.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
