100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project

Events to commemorate the centenary of the First World War will occur between 2014 and 2018. ANZAC Day, together with the ANZAC ‘Tradition’ and ANZAC ‘Spirit’, evolving from the Gallipoli landing and, increasingly, the Western Front, have long influenced society in Australia and New Zealand. Now many other commemorations and anniversaries fill annual calendars.

As a source of cultural information, poetry has been continuously available as a medium of expression. Poems written at a particular point in time can reveal what ideas and opinions were prevalent in that era. Thus poetry makes it possible to reflect upon and compare writers’ perspectives across background, time and place.

Given this ability, the 100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project challenges poets to answer the following question:

What does ANZAC Day mean to you, to today’s families, communities or nations?

What about Remembrance Day or other military commemorations or anniversaries?

The objectives of the 100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project are:

•To use new poetry written by today’s poets to illustrate the diversity of current views about Australia’s and New Zealand’s commemorations and anniversaries of military history and how these influence, or have influenced, modern society;

•To provide an opportunity for today’s poets from Australia and New Zealand to express their thoughts and ideas about how their nations’ commemorations and anniversaries of military history, together with the emotions these evoke, are reflected in modern society; and

•To contrast these modern views with those from the past by including poems from the 19th and 20th centuries and the early years of this century.

The principal outcome will be a Publication containing 200 poems. There will be 100 newly written and previously unpublished poems appearing alongside 100 older poems. The publications will contain 100 photographs of war memorials from country areas of Australia and New Zealand.

Further information about the Project’s Objectives and Outcomes and how you can participate can be downloaded from below:

Acrobat file: Objectives and Outcomes.pdf

How You Can Participate

You can participate in both the 100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project’s Publication, and the 100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project’s Prize, as follows.

Submission to the Publication

People are invited to submit their poems for consideration in the 100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project’s Publication. More than one poem can be submitted.

These poems may be:

• newly written and previously unpublished; or
• already written.

These latter poems may be published or unpublished and full publication details and copyright information must be provided.

Entry into the Poetry Prize

In conjunction with their submission to the Publication, new poems written between Remembrance Day, Friday 11 November 2011 and Remembrance Day, Monday 11 November 2013, may be entered into the 100 Years from Gallipoli  Poetry Prize.

Entry in this competition is not compulsory for a new poem to be considered in the Publication.

Winning writers will share a total prize allocation of AUD $5000, and their poems will appear in the Project’s Publication.

To enter the Prize, each poem is to be submitted with a signed Entry Form and fee of AUD $20 (GST included). The Poetry Prize’s Entry Form and Terms and Conditions can be downloaded from below:

Acrobat file: Entry Form and Terms and Conditions.pdf

A reminder that:

• If submitting a new or existing poem please include a declaration that the poem is your own work, copyright conditions and permission, date written and you are a citizen or resident of Australia or New Zealand.

• If submitting a poem or information about a poem, please include copyright and publication information.

• If entering a newly written poem into the Poetry Prize, please include a completed and signed Entry Form, together with its AUD $20 entry fee (GST included).

Contact Details

Post your poems, completed forms and any fees by Remembrance Day, 11 November 2013, to:

Co-ordinating Editor
100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project
PO Box 170
Deloraine, Tasmania 7304
Australia

If you have any queries, or are unable to download the submission material from the Internet, please contact the Co-ordinating Editor by phoning +61 (0)3 6362 4390, or emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you would like a 100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project poster, go to the download section