~ Button Poetry ~

Call for Work: Button Poetry Video Contest

"now open: 2023 button poetry video contest!"

The spoken-word channel/platform Button Poetry has just announced their 2023 poetry video contest.

We are thrilled to host our eighth annual open-submission video contest!

There are so many ways to record and present poetry, and we want to continue giving people around the world the chance to step up on the digital stage and share their work.

We are looking for brave work that crosses borders or effaces them completely, work that enters into larger social conversations, work that lives in the world, work with a strong, unique voice and palpable energy.

Here are the guidelines. The deadline is August 31. Good luck!

Button Poetry 2019 Video Contest open through August 31

Button Poetry Video Contest 2019 poster

As usual, I missed the announcement and only remembered to search for it now, but you still have 11 days to submit to Button Poetry‘s annual video contest. The official guidelines are on Submittable:

We are thrilled to host our fourth annual open-submission video contest!

There are so many ways to record and present poetry, and we want to continue giving people around the world the chance to step up on the digital stage and share their work.

We are looking for brave work that crosses borders or effaces them completely, work that enters into larger social conversations, work that lives in the world, work with a strong, unique voice and palpable energy.

See our previous winners here and here for examples!

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CLOSELY

Submissions open on July 15th, 2019 and close on August 31st, 2019 at 11:59PM PST (US Time Zone).

PRIZE:
The winner’s video along with the videos of 5 runners-up will be featured across Button’s social media. The winner will receive a $500 honorarium. Additional entries may also be recognized and published.

ENTRY FEE:  
$8 per submission
$6 per submission for Young Writers (ages 18-21) and International Entrants (outside the U.S.)
Please, only one video per submission. Multiple submissions are welcome.
All entrants will receive 20% off any purchase from the Button Website.

ELIGIBILITY:

  1. Age: You must be 18 years or older to enter (sorry!).
  2. Language: We welcome any poetry performance or poetry short film in any language, as long as non-English videos come with English subtitles.
  3. Previous Publication: Videos that have been previously published elsewhere are eligible, with the understanding that any selected video may need to be taken down from other locations on the internet.

RULES:

  1. Video Length: Videos must be 1-4 minutes in length.
  2. File Size: File size may not exceed 1GB.
  3. Submission Format: Videos must be submitted using the submission manager on this page. Most common video file-types are accepted.
  4. Rights: You MUST own the complete, transferable rights to ALL elements of the submission. This includes but is not limited to text, audio, video, and images.
  5. Collaborative Poems: Collaborative poems are fine!
  6. Video Quantity: Only one video per submission. Multiple submissions are welcomed.

Please note that submissions which do not meet these rules may be disqualified.

CONTEST PROCESS:

  1. Judges: Members of the Button Poetry staff and a carefully selected group of artists and judges will review all submissions to determine the winner, runners up, honorable mentions, and any other videos we may be interested in running.
  2. Notices: You will be notified of your submission status as the contest progress, via email to the address you used to make your submission(s) with. This will be done on a rolling basis as we move through the stages of the contest.
  3. Timeline: The duration of judging will depend on the quantity of entries we receive, so we’ll keep folks posted on our social media about the contest. Please expect it to take a few months, however, as we want to give your submissions the attention they deserve!
  4. Honorable Mentions: If you would like to be considered as an honorable mention in the following categories, please note your eligibility in your submission form. Categories include: International Entry (outside the United States) and Young Writers (ages 18-21).
  5. Contact: Due to the high volume of submissions and questions we receive, please refer to our Video Contest FAQ before reaching out. We cannot guarantee a timely response to all questions. Any questions not covered in the FAQ can be emailed to: contest@buttonpoetry.com

SOME TIPS & SUGGESTIONS:

  1. Contact Email: The email address and name you use for your submission are what we will use to contact you. This is how we will let you know the status of your submission as the contest progresses.
  2. Video Quality: While video and audio quality will be one factor in the judging process, the quality of the poem and performance themselves will be weighted much more heavily. That said, if possible, please use high-quality audio and video.
  • Tip: If you’re filming this yourself on a smartphone or similar, then try to do it inside, somewhere that’s well-lit, and without background noise. Consider turning your phone horizontal while filming!
  • Tip: If you’re using a video of a live performance, like an open mic or slam, take care with the audio. Try to be closer to the performer so they can still be heard over the audience.

We look forward to seeing your powerful and important work! 

Click through to submit. Button Poetry has, among other things, the most popular poetry channel on YouTube, so winners have the chance to reach thousands of viewers/listeners. Here’s the 2018 winner, Sanam Sheriff’s “A Pulse, After Orlando”:

And here’s Elisabet Velasquez’s “Elephant”, which took top honors in 2017:

2018 Button Poetry Video Contest open through August 31

I missed the announcement at the beginning of the month, but there are still a few days left to submit to Button Poetry’s 2018 video contest. It’s open to any poet over the age of 18 anywhere in the world (as long as English subtitles are provided for poems in other languages); videos should be 1-4 minutes in length, and “Videos that have been previously published elsewhere are eligible, with the understanding that any selected video may need to be taken down from other locations on the internet.” See the complete guidelines on Submittable.

With 996,213 subscribers and videos that routinely rack up tens of thousands of views, Button Poetry is surely the most popular poetry-related YouTube channel in English. Their preferred style is spoken word/performance poetry, but that’s a very broad tent these days, and past winners of their video contest have included proper poetry films, not simply documentary videos of live performances, which comprise the vast majority of their in-house productions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ho4dNVyuSw

Elegance/Refusal by Sojourner Ahebee

A wonderful primer on the personal and political meanings of hair in the Black community by Palo Alto, California-based poet Sojourner Ahebee, directed by Christian Osagiede. I saw an earlier version of this film appear on Vimeo five months ago, and didn’t share it then because the credits indicated that it was a submission to the 2017 Button Video Contest, and I had a hunch it might place. Sure enough, it’s a runner-up! Here’s the description that Ahebee posted then:

This poem, “Elegance/Refusal,” is interested in mapping a brief history of hair in the Black community. The poem’s title is drawn from a Coco Chanel quote in which she says: “Elegance is refusal.” For me, Chanel’s words lit a fire inside of me and pushed me to document/give language to the ways Black women/femmes perform resistance (“refusal”) through fashion/hair; how they use beauty aesthetics to ask the world to see them, and how they create and constantly re-create new visions of themselves for themselves. This is also a poem about intimacy between Black women. Hope you enjoy.

To read more poems from my debut poetry collection, check out my chapbook, “Reporting from the Belly of the Night” at sojournerahebee.com

Lantern Smoke by Dagogo Hart

This film by Steven Beatsmith for a poem by the Dublin-based poet Dagogo Hart was a runner-up in Button Poetry‘s 2017 Video Contest.

How To Love Your Introvert by Kevin Yang

Performance poet Kevin Yang’s poem in a film directed and edited by Vokee Lee, who writes:

The narrative in this music/poem video expresses the thoughts and feelings of being lost, lonely, the comfort of being in your own bubble, all the while the poem is meant to express a possible love letter to an ex-wife/lover/girlfriend. The video and poem itself is meant to be an awakening of “loving & finding”[.]

Aeryn Austin-Elbaz stars, and Ricardo Vasquez—not Kevin Yang—is the narrator. This is part of a short series of spoken word films produced by Motionpoems last year between its regular Seasons 6 and 7.

For those who want to hear and see the poet’s own interpretation, here’s the super popular video (712k views) from Button Poetry:

Cry of the Loon by Kai Carlson-Wee

An author-made poetry film by Kai Carlson-Wee that was a runner-up in the 2016 Button Poetry Video Contest.

It occurred to me as I re-watched this that the opening sequence of loons calling with the title superimposed is a great example of a circumstance in which it makes sense to break the rule against straight-forward illustration in video- or filmpoetry: so few people nowadays can be assumed to know what a loon call sounds like, and it’s really helpful to know that if you want the full, melancholy effect of the poem. And I like how the images in the film and the text slowly diverge over the next couple of minutes: an uncoupling that seems appropriate for a poem about memory and mortality. Finally we reach the ending sequence — back out on the water with the loons — and learn that the filmpoem is For Roald Carlson (1925-2015). Beautifully done (and a good mate to the in memoriam filmpoem by George and Eleanor Hooker that I posted on Wednesday).

Descrambled Eggs by Steve Currie

Canadian poet Steve Currie stars in this video, directed by Kayla Jeanson with illustrations by Sergio Garzon and music by Kevin McLeod. “Created for F-wordz – Winnipeg Film Group 2015,” it was re-released last June by Button Poetry.

Although Currie doesn’t appear to have a website, a quick search reveals that he was the 2012 slam champion of Winnipeg, currently teaches high school in British Columbia, and is not landed gentry. Assuming that’s all the same guy.

Call for submissions: 2017 Button Poetry Video Contest

For the second year in a row, Button Poetry, producers of arguably the most popular English-language poetry channel on YouTube, are holding a video contest. Submissions opened on August 1, but I just got wind of it. You have until September 15 to submit. I’ll paste in the details from Submittable:

We are thrilled to announce our second annual open-submission video contest! Our chapbook contest will be happening in winter this year (opening November 15th).

Over the past years, we here at Button have realized the limited nature of filming at poetry tournaments and slams. There are so many other ways to record and present poetry beyond a slam setting, so we decided to give people around the world the chance to step up on the digital stage and share their work.

Submissions to the Video Contest will be open from August 1st to September 15th. All videos submitted will be considered for publication, not just the winner and runners-up.

We are looking for work that crosses borders or effaces them completely, work that enters into larger social conversations, work that lives in the world, work with a strong, unique voice and palpable energy.

Open to EVERYONE age 16 and older!

Prize: The winner’s video along with the videos of 5 runners-up will be featured across Button’s social media. The winner will receive a $250 honorarium and the runners-up will each receive $100.

Entry Fee: $7 (or $12 for two videos)

Special Discount: Youth (ages 16-20) and international submitters can submit single video submissions for a discounted price of $5.

All entrants will receive 15% off any purchase from the Button Website.

Timeline: The contest will open on August 1st and close at 11:59 PM CST on September 15th.

Eligibility: The competition is open to poets worldwide age 16+ (NOTE: poets under 18 would need a signed parental/guardian release form before being run — this will be dealt with after videos have been selected for publication). We will accept any poetry performance or poetry short film in any language (as long as non-English videos come equipped with English subtitles). Videos that have been previously published elsewhere are eligible, with the understanding that any selected video may need to be taken down from other locations on the internet.

Guidelines: Submit one or more videos (1 to 5 minutes in length, <1GB) via the online submission manager on this page. Most common video file-types are accepted.

What We Like: We value energy and voice and force, work that crosses borders or effaces them completely, work that enters into larger social conversations, work that lives in the world, work with calloused hands and a half-empty stomach. We think poetry is and ought to be part of our everyday lives and culture.

Note: You MUST own the complete, transferable rights to ALL elements of the submission, including text, audio, and video.

Tech: While video and audio quality will be one factor in the judging process, the quality of the poem and performance themselves will be weighted much more heavily. That said, if possible, please use high-quality audio and video. If you’re filming this yourself on a smartphone or similar, try to do it inside, somewhere well-lit, without background noise, etc. If you’re using a video of a live performance, for example from an open mic or slam, take care with audio.

Collaborative poems are fine.

Process: Members of the Button Poetry staff will review all submissions to determine the winner, runners up, and any other videos we may be interested in running!

For questions, email contest@buttonpoetry.com.

Click through to submit.

Button Poetry 2016 Video Contest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6n6rjo3fNg

Button Poetry, the hugely popular (for poetry), performance-oriented YouTube channel, is welcoming submissions for its first-ever video contest. Their Submittable page has all the details.

We’re incredibly excited to launch the first-ever Button Poetry video contest! Over the last year, we’ve increasingly realized the limited nature of our film work: we can only really film poets in specific physical spaces where we’re present each year.

We intend for this to be the first of many opportunities for people around the world to get on the ever larger digital stage for poetry.

Prize: The winner’s video (or a re-filmed version of the poem) along with the videos of 5 Runners Up will be featured across Button’s social media. The winner will receive a $250 honorarium and the Runners Up will each receive $100. Winner and runners up will also be invited to perform at Button Poetry Live in Saint Paul, MN!

Entry Fee: $6 (or $15 for up to four videos); all entrants will receive 15% off any purchase at the Button Shop.

Timeline: The contest will open on July 15th and close at 11:59 PM CST on AUGUST 31ST!

Eligibility: The competition is open to poets worldwide age 16+ (NOTE: poets under 18 would need a signed parental/guardian release form before being run). We will accept any poetry performance or poetry short film in any language (as long as non-English videos come equipped with English subtitles). Videos that have been previously published elsewhere are eligible, with the understanding that any selected video will need to be taken down from other locations on the internet.

What We Like: We value energy and voice and force, work that crosses borders or effaces them completely, work that enters into larger social conversations, work that lives in the world, work with calloused hands and a half-empty stomach. We think poetry is and ought to be part of our everyday lives and culture.

Guidelines: Submit one or more videos (1 to 5 minutes in length, <1GB) via our online submission manager. Most common video file-types are accepted.

Tech: While video and audio quality will be one factor in the judging process, the quality of the poem and performance themselves will be weighted much more heavily. That said, if possible, please use high-quality audio and video. If you’re filming this yourself on a smartphone or similar, try to do it inside, somewhere well-lit, without background noise, etc. If you’re using a video of a live performance, for example from an open mic or slam, take care with audio. If we particularly love a poem and decide we want to run it but the quality we received is not usable for the channel, we will discuss options with the poet for refilming a video of it.

Collaborative poems (group pieces) are fine, though be particularly careful on audio with those.

Process: Members of the Button Poetry staff will review all submissions to determine the winner, runners up, and any other videos we may be interested in running!

For questions, email contest@buttonpoetry.com.

NOTE: Make sure to choose the proper fee amount for the number of videos you’re submitting, or your submission may be declined!

Click through to Submittable to submit your work. Videos on the Button Poetry channel regularly get at least 10,000 views, so this is a great opportunity for poetry filmmakers to reach a larger audience. And judging by the positive reactions to a couple of Motionpoems-produced videos on their channel, their audience is highly receptive to poetry film proper, not just performer-focused videos.

Falling Lessons: Erasure One by Beth Copeland

Directed by Anh Vu for Motionpoems, this interpretation of a poem by Beth Copeland has been winning fans by the score on both old and new media. It was featured on PBS NewsHour:

Sometimes, what a poem does not say is the most important part.

That’s what Beth Copeland found while writing “Falling Lessons: Erasure One,” a poem that explored her father’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease.

Before his death four years ago, Copeland wrote a longer narrative piece about the last few years of his life. But then, she did something unusual: she deleted most of it.

That process of erasure was a way to put herself in her father’s place, replicating what had happened as his disease progressed.

“I became interested in the idea of erasure, because I felt that the process of erasure is a reflection of what happens to people when they have memory loss,” she said. “I found out as I was doing it that the distillation process made the poems stronger.”

“Erasure One” is the first in a series of three pieces. In each successive poem, Copeland used the same technique, erasing parts of the previous poem and distilling it to the words that are left behind.

Writing the series helped her understand more about her father’s mind near the end of his life, she said. “I had time to really reflect on the process that he had gone through … I think I did learn more about my father’s experience,” she said.

Director Anh Vu, working with the organization Motionpoems, brought Copeland’s poem to the screen in a short film. The film interweaves images of the natural world with books, papers and other evidence of academia — a combination of her father’s passions, Copeland said.

Copeland wrote more extensively about her parents, who both experienced dementia, in a new manuscript titled “Blue Honey,” which is seeking a publisher. “Writing about what happened to both of my parents has been an opportunity for me to process a lot of the feelings that family members have when they have someone in the family with some type of dementia,” she said.

A Staff Pick on Vimeo, Falling Lessons: Erasure One was also one of the first two Motionpoems to be released on YouTube by Button Poetry, which has, I believe, the most popular channel for poetry videos, with 502,636 subscribers and 109,923,559 views to date. Almost all the videos they share on YouTube and on their Tumblr blog are straight-forward documentary videos of readings or recitations, many of which they produce themselves, with a heavy emphasis on material from the spoken word community. So it’s been interesting to see the enthusiasm with which their fan base has reacted to Falling Lessons: Erasure One, uploaded on March 17, and The Mother Warns the Tornado, the Isaac Ravishankara film based on a poem by Catherine Pierce, which they uploaded on March 4. The former has been played 15,206 times and the latter 22,037 times—about average for Button Poetry videos. What is perhaps more astonishing is that the comments for both videos are entirely positive so far—apparently YouTube trolls haven’t discovered Button yet?—suggesting that the supposed gulf between performance poetry and mainstream poetry may not actually exist, and that we all need to do a better job of reaching out to this most obvious and receptive new audience for poetry film. Typical reactions to the two Motionpoems videos include: “Utilizing the power of film and score with poetry was a beautiful idea”; “I absolutely LOVE these motion poems, the perfect combination of visual artistry and spoken poetry”; “I would love to see more videos that are actually stories to poems! I was left speechless at the end of this. The poem itself is amazing but the addition of the visuals made it that much more powerful”; and “Please make a million of these.”

Click through to Vimeo for the full credits. Oddly, the film has not been featured as an “episode” on the Motionpoems website just yet, so I suspect there may be some interviews or other bonus materials in the offing. Keep an eye out for that.