CALL FOR POETRY: 2015 Farm/Art DTour

Are you clever? Are you competitive? Do you like word play?

The Fermentation Fest has put out a call for Upper Midwest poets to contribute short poetry for the Farm/Art DTour. They're calling the event A Live Culture Convergence. If you're old enough to remember those Burma Shave signs we used to see on the way to grandma's house, you'll grasp the principle behind this competition.

Upper Midwest writers are invited to submit short poems relating to food, fermentation, agriculture, art or the land which can be turned into a set of Burma Shave-style signage on a 50-mile stretch of scenic farmland in Sauk County. Sounds like a fun, retro way to create some buzz for the Farm/Art DTour.

When I was a kid in the fifties and early sixties our family frequently took drives from Cleveland to my grandparents home in Warren, Ohio. I have a lot of memories from that one hour drive including parachute jumpers, sparrows caught in the grill of the car, fifties rock 'n roll that was playing on the radio, and yes, those Burma Shave signs.

I did a bit of quick research on this last night and discovered that the first Burma Shave roadsides were introduced here in Minnesota. I bet you didn't know that. 1925.

Follow this link for lots of images related to these Burma Shave signs.

What a great marketing concept. I don't know what the signs cost, but the brand was established by means of its ubiquity and the humorous manner in which it reached the general public.

Oh, so back to the contest! The objective will be for writers to submit short poems that can be displayed along the roadsides of the Farm/Art DTour route like Burma Shave signs. Submissions will be evaluated by Wisconsin poet laureate Max Garland. Winners will receive $100 for each poem selected. There will be six poems selected.

You can FIND COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT THE CONTEST HERE.

DEADLIINE is July 31, so put your thinking caps on. Let the games begin!

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Find out more about the Fermentation Fest here.

Learn more about Burma Shave history here on Wikipedia.

Read a radically vast collection of Burma Shave jingles here.

If you want to skip all the links and just Submit Poems for the DTour email your entries to dtour.poetry@gmail.com

Have Fun
With Your Number One
Go Pickin'
Berries
In The Sun

Meantime, life goes on....

TIP OF THE DAY: The more birthdays you have, the longer you'll live.

PASS IT ON.