Save the date: Nov. 15-17, 2024
Waco Cultural Arts Fest: WordFest
Waco Convention Center
WORDFEST 2024
Theme: Sun
ANNE MCCRADY - WORKSHOPS
Email Submission to
wacowordfest@yahoo.com
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16
POEMS THAT SING
PART I – HOW GREAT POEMS SING
We all have favorite poems by beloved poets, collections and anthologies of unforgettable images, remembered metaphors that are astounding, and deeply meaningful insights in poetic forms that have been perfected. In Part One of Poems that Sing, Anne McCrady invites participants to rediscover what makes great poetry sing (and sometimes Zing!) and how we can use those ideas in our own poems. Participants are invited to bring a favorite poem.
PART II – WRITING PERSONAL POEMS THAT SING
The second half of Poems that Sing will be dedicated to writing and sharing new poems, using aspects of the previous session’s poets, poems, and poetics as inspirational prompts. Discussion and affirmation will be encouraged, as we all seek to sing the human condition in new and beautiful ways. Poets are asked to bring materials for writing.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17
SUBMITTING – REVISION FOR READERS
While we sometimes write for the pure joy of turning life experiences into literary art, to connect with readers, our poems must be more than self-expression. Luckily, we can use the magic of poetics in powerful and ingenious ways, and when we submit for publication, editors expect that of us! In this interactive session, Anne, a frequent contest judge with editorial experience, will guide participants in using deep, as well as creative, revision to turn good poems into great ones, ready to astound readers and find publication. Poets are asked to bring a few of their poems that are almost finished!
Submission guidelines for 2024 WordFest Anthology
Send one poem between June 1 - July 15, 2024
Poets may submit one poem using the theme of Sun. The poem should include a
title and be 24 lines or less in Times New Roman 12 point font with no line longer
than 50 characters. In order to be considered, poems may NOT be previously
published. Please send your poem in the body of one email to
wacowordfest@yahoo.com with your contact information including: mailing
address (country if outside of US), phone number at the bottom and your name
as the subject of the email. If the submitting poet is under the age of 18, please
include school and age beside the name. A special youth section may be included
in the anthology. Do not send more than one email. You will receive a
confirmation when your poem has been received.
Deadline for submissions is July 15, 2024 by midnight. Selected poets for the 2024 Waco Cultural Arts Fest WordFest Anthology will be notified by August 15, 2024 of their acceptance.
All final poets published will receive a complimentary copy of the 2024 WordFest Anthology at the Festival in Waco on November 16, 2024. If you are published and are unable to pick up your complimentary copy, you many arrange to have someone else come pick it up for you at the festival.
Submission
Please send requests by email: wacowordfest@yahoo.com
Otherwise, poets that do not arrange to have their copy picked up will receive an electronic copy to the email provided upon submission.
WordFest Feature Poet for 2024 WordFest is Anne McCrady!!!
Anne McCrady is a poet, speaker, storyteller, and peace advocate. In addition to her poetry
collections, Along Greathouse Road and Letting Myself In, and her chapbook Under a Blameless
Moon, Anne’s award-winning writing appears internationally in many literary journals and dozens of
anthologies, as well as online. She also has editorial, review, fiction, and creative nonfiction
publication credits, and she is a frequent poetry contest judge, workshop presenter, and motivational
speaker.
In partnership with UT Tyler professor and performance music department chair Dr. Kyle Gullings,
Anne's work has been performed as operatic art song and as libretto, including song lyrics for the
contemporary opera Departure, written by Anne and Dr. Gullings.
Anne’s writing has also been used as liturgy in churches and in Unitarian Universalist fellowships
where she is a frequent worship speaker. Over the years, her poems have also been read at weddings,
memorial services, and community events.
Anne’s honors include being a two-time Pushcart nominee, a longtime councilor for the Poetry
Society of Texas, and the 2018-19 Austin International Poetry Festival Poet Laureate. In addition, two
of her collections were state and national prize winners. Anne has served as a Texas Commission on
the Arts Touring Artist, a Young Audiences school presenter, and producer of the Texas Poets Podcast
which featured Texas Poets Laureate. Anne was the cofounder and codirector of the annual arts-based
Art of Peace Festival in Tyler, Texas, a week-long celebration of the U.N. International Day of Peace,
which for ten years included an annual international poetry anthology that Anne edited and published.
In 2021, Anne’s poetry was presented at the 2021 Houston REELpoetry Short Poetry Film Festival
and was an Honorable Mention in the Reuben Rose Poetry Contest in Israel.
Anne’s educational background was as a Select Student and chemistry and biology graduate at
Stephen F. Austin State University. Anne’s personal interests include the environment, wildlife,
gardening, education, gender equality, peace initiatives, science advancements, progressive politics,
social justice initiatives, and arts organizations.
The mother of three adult children and the grandmother of eight kind and creative grandchildren,
Anne lives in Tyler, with her husband, Dr. Mike McCrady, who is a family medicine hospitalist. Their
daughter, Dr. Kate Hawkins, is a Tyler pediatrician. Sons, Andy in Nacogdoches and Patrick in
Virginia, have degrees in Forest Wildlife and Mining Engineering.
Anne is currently working on several poetry and picture book projects. Her work is presented online at
InSpiritry.com, her personal website, and at PoetwithaPressPass.com, where she posts timely poems
related to news and current topics. She also posts on Substack and Face.
Waco Cultural Arts Fest 20th Anniversary
2024 WordFest Schedule
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2024
6-7 pm 20 th Anniversary Homecoming Welcome
Hosts: Carol Thompson & Janet Tyner
7-9 p.m. Open Mic Poetry (open to the public)
Host: Thom Woodruff
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2023
10:30-11:30 a.m. Panel Discussion with poets Anne McCrady, others TBA
Host: Sandi Horton
1-4 p.m.: Feature Workshops: Anne McCrady
(breaks will be given as needed)
Part 1: Interactive Workshop: How Great Poems Sing
Part 2: Interactive Workshop: Writing Poems That Sing
5:30-7 p.m Distinguished Writers’ Reception (by invitation) . Authors’ Book Exchange, Light bites and drinks
7-9 p.m. Anthology Reading (open to the public)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2023
10:30 a.m.-noon Feature Workshop: Anne McCrady
Submitting your Poetry: Revisions for Readers
1-4 p.m. Public Open Mic
WordFest Featured Poet by year 2015 Sarah Cortez
2016 Thom Woodruff
2017 Kayla K Morton
2018 Nathan Brown
2019 Loretta Diane Walker
2020 Michael Guinn
2021 Kathleen Hudson
2022 d ellis phelps
2023 Seema Gill
Featured Artist on WordFest Anthology Cover:
2016 June Zaner
2017 Mark Kieran
2018 Susan Sistrunk
2019 Julie Milstead
2020 Charles Wallis
2021 Carrie Stout
2022 Cory Lind
2023 Richard Heley
Previous Poets who have presented workshops or facilitated readings at WordFest:
Mike Baldwin
Kay Bell
Jan Benson
Chris Boldt
Nathan Brown
Cassy Burleson
Sarah Cortez
Rae Denton
Susan Duty
Jennifer Evans
Mary Evans
Michael Guinn
Joyce Gullickson
Mike Gullickson
Michelle Hartman
Gary Heck
Sandi Horton
Ann Howells
Kathleen Hudson
Anne McCrady
Karla K. Morton
D. Ellis Phelps
Steve Sanders
Edwin B. Staples
Susan Summers
Loretta Diane Walker
Allyson Whipple
Thom Woodruff
Sponsored by Community Race Relations Coalition
and HEB
