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Tidewater Reads 2018 – Eastern Shore Public Library Participates in Events & Poetry Contest

photo of Kwame Alexander

April 2018 is all about Kwame Alexander, poet, educator, and the New York Times Bestselling author of 24 books. Engage with our community by reading and talking about the same books, enjoying events sponsored by Tidewater Reads libraries and organizations, and meeting a well-known author. The great thing about Kwame Alexander is that he’s written books for a wide range of ages, from picture books to Young Adult Novels, so the whole family can get involved.

Watch for more information about local events in March and April. In the meantime, the Eastern Shore Public Library challenges you to submit an original work to the 2018 Tidewater Reads Poetry Contest! The contest is open for entries February 26 – March 16, 2018. There are five age categories from kindergarten to adults and the top three poems in each category from the Eastern Shore of Virginia will move on to be judged in the Tidewater Reads regional competition. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of each age division at 3PM on Saturday, April 28th during the Kwame Reads event at the Slover Library in Norfolk. Winning entries will be compiled into a digital poetry book made available at TidewaterReads.org.

Visit any of the Eastern Shore of Virginia public libraries to get a copy of the poetry contest entry form or download from our website. Entries may be submitted at the Circulation Desk of the Main Library (Accomac), Cape Charles Memorial Library, Chincoteague Island Library, or Northampton Free Library (Nassawadox) from February 26, 2018 through March 16, 2018. All entries are due by PM on Friday, March 16, 2018.

The other participating library systems include Newport News Public Library, Norfolk Public Library, Poquoson Public Library, Portsmouth Public Library, Suffolk Public Library, York County Public Library.