Poetry Writing Contest: Tulaan Sa Tren

Dear Me,

I love poems. I love reading them. I even love composing them.

Back in my high school years, I was fond of weaving lines about nature, dreams and friendship. Those were the subjects that fueled my creative mind to jot words even in a tissue paper.

I wonder if there are still a lot of people who love the power of words in a poem. Are you one of them?



The National Book Development Board (NBDB), Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), Vibal Foundation, and the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP) are giving aspiring poets a chance to have their poems posted in LRT trains as part of the Tulaan sa Tren readership promotion campaign:

1. The contest is open from 22 June 2009 until 22 July 2009 to all Filipino citizens of all ages.
   
   
2. The NBDB will accept original, unpublished poems with the theme Journeys/Paglalakbay. Entries may be in English, Filipino, or any of the regional languages (with English or Tagalog translation if written in a regional language) and should be up to 200 words long. Only one (1) poem per author will be accepted.
   
   
3. The Board of Judges will select three (3) winners each for the English and Filipino categories. For each category, the Grand Prize winner will receive P5,000.00, second prize winner will receive P3,000.00, and third prize winner will receive P2,000.00. Winning entries will be posted in LRT trains alongside the works of established Filipino poets and will be published in a compilation of Tulaan sa Tren 2 poems. The NBDB shall share copyright with the authors for their winning poems for purposes of broadcast and/or publication in the NBDB's readership campaigns.
   
   
4. Entries must be submitted along with the Official Entry Form. The author's name and address must only appear in the Official Entry Form and must not appear on the entry. Entries may be e-mailed to tulaansatren@nbdb.gov.ph. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or sent postmarked no later than July 22, 2009 to:
   
   Office of the Executive Director
   National Book Development Board
   2/F NPO Bldg.
   EDSA cor. NIA Northside Road
   Diliman, Quezon City
   
5. The winners will be contacted by the NBDB prior to the launch of Tulaan sa Tren 2 and will be awarded during the project launch tentatively set in August.

The Official Entry Form can be accessed at the National Book Development Board (NBDB) webpage.