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The Long Branch Arts Council and its sponsoring partners seek submissions from New Jersey poets of all ages to write about their personal experiences during the days that followed Hurricane Sandy, according to news release from the organization.

Accepted pieces will be published in an anthology entitled “Poetic Voices in Response to Hurricane Sandy.”

All that a poet needs to be considered for inclusion in “Poetic Voices” is a story — a personal experience or impression that focuses on the events of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. Entrants are being sought from storm-affected areas in New Jersey, the release stated.

The finished anthology will be published in book form and distributed to libraries. Poets will also have the opportunity to perform their works for the public at various locations in Long Branch, NJ, during the spring of 2014.

Interested entrants can submit up to three poems as email attachments to arts council President Gabor Barabas at gabor@njrep.org. “Poetic Voices” must be in the subject line of the email. Entries must be received by Feb. 15.  Writing experience or previous publication is not required.

Entrants will be notified via email by March 1, 2014, if a submitted poem has been accepted for the anthology. Each included poet will receive a free copy of the published volume.

Serving as project director for Poetic Voices is Robyn Ellenbogen — a published writer, gallery exhibited visual artist, and educator who has worked extensively with young people from different backgrounds in her professional career as a “teaching artist” in regional schools and hospital facilities, the release stated. Ellenbogen shares these experiences on her Tumblr page “Intimate Garden.”

Co-sponsors of the Long Branch Arts Council Poetic Voices project include the ArtHelps program of the Monmouth County Arts Council, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the Community Foundation of New Jersey. Additional sponsors include Discover Jersey Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the County of Monmouth.

For more information, contact Barabas at gabor@njrep.org.

The Long Branch Arts Council is a partnership dedicated to working with the city government, civic and business organizations and the arts community to re-establish the City of Long Branch as a thriving regional center for the arts. Their aim is to accomplish this goal by attracting artists and arts organizations, coordinating fundraising and development efforts, establishing arts education programs, and presenting arts-oriented events that draw upon the natural resources, accessibility, historic assets and “people power” that are unique to the City of Long Branch.

[Photo at top: Flood waters surround Asbury Park’s Convention Hall in the days after Hurricane Sandy.]

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