Students in grades K-12 from Nebraska and Iowa are invited to submit works of poetry on the theme of Discovery. Selected poems will be set to music and premiered during a public concert in April 2024.

The Opera Omaha Poetry and Music Project is a statewide program run in partnership with the Nebraska Writers Collective to amplify the voices of youth poets, both urban and rural, across Nebraska and Iowa. Students are invited to submit poems on the project, and free Poetry & Music writing workshops are available in the fall. Professional composers select poems that move them from a robust collection of writing submitted by young writers in grades K-12 and create original music inspired by the selected poems. This program culminates in public performance of the selected poems -now songs- with the poets, their families, and community partners in attendance so they can see the fruits of labor that come from this season long project.

DISCOVERY

Subthemes
Finding Yourself | Exploring Relationships | Pinpointing Place | Uncovering Art | Examining Growth

Finding Yourself
One of the most important discoveries we make is finding out who we are, what we’ve grown into, and what we want to become. Explore this poem, “Remember” by Joy Harjo. The poet constantly reminds us to remember where we came from as a way of shaping where we are going. Make a list of all the things about yourself that make you unique, all the things you’ve discovered about yourself in your journey. Now use that list to write a poem highlighting all the times you learned something important (good or bad) about yourself and what it was that helped teach you that lesson.
Remember by Joy Harjo - Poems | Academy of American Poets

Exploring Relationships
The people in our lives shape who we become. We impact others in every interaction we have with them. These relationships take many forms: family, friends, crushes, first loves, pets, enemies, mentors. Consider this poem, “our happiness” by Eileen Myles. In the poem the poet talks about very specific details that are highlights of their relationship. Poems are often more powerful when they reveal these small details to us. Write a love poem to someone or something that includes these small details. Really think about the relationship and discover the things you hadn’t noticed before or that are often overlooked.
our happiness by Eileen Myles - Poems | Academy of American Poets

Pinpointing Place
Some of the best discoveries we make are the places we like to call our own. Maybe it’s a quiet corner of a coffee shop, or a spot in the park you sit and relax, or maybe it’s a family trip that takes you somewhere new. Read this poem “The Cities Inside Us” by Alberto Rios, consider the first stanza “We live in secret cities and travel unmapped roads”. Now try to write a poem that is a map to your favorite spot. How did you first find this place? What are some of the obstacles to getting there? What about this place draws you to it? What treasures does it hold?
The Cities Inside Us by Alberto Ríos - Poems | Academy of American Poets

Uncovering Art
The creation of art is a discovery, sometimes we don’t know what we are sitting down to make until its done. Sometimes we don’t know where our inspiration comes from until it reveals itself to us. Check out this poem “Two Monkeys by Breughel” by Wislawa Szymborska and the painting that inspired it. See how the poet mixes their own thoughts with what is happening in the painting to try and explain it? Examine these self-portraits from Frida Kahlo and try to write a poem about the painting. You can put yourself in painting (maybe you are one of the parrots) or try to explain the painting (what was the artist trying to show?), or simply describe what emotions the painting brings out in you. You can try this with any piece of art that inspires you!
Szymborska, Two Monkeys by Breughel | emory.edu

Images from left to right:
Frida Kahlo, Me and My Parrot, (1941) | Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait as a Tehuana, (1943) | Frida Kahlo, The Wounded Deer (The Little Deer), (1946)

Examining Growth
As we grow, we discover what is important to us and to others and how those things change. Listen to this poem, “Coming of Age” by Taylor Lauren Davis and consider lines like “attempting to grow into myself without stretching out my skin” and “just enough space to hold all the galaxies inside myself”. The poet talks about growing not only in the physical sense but also expanding emotionally and intellectually. Write a poem about how you have grown, you can share a specific story or chronicle your journey up until now.
"Coming of Age” by Taylor Lauren Davis | youtube

• Open to All K-12 Students in Nebraska and Iowa
• Poems must connect to the themes, but do not need to use suggested prompts
• Students may submit one poem
• All work must be original
• Poems should be in Word or Google Docs file format
• Poems may be in any structure, but should be no more than 1 page in length
• If submitting a poem on the theme Uncovering Art, please include the title and artist of the piece inspiring the poem. Images will not be included in the poem book.
• Poems must be submitted with signed submission form

Submit your poem via the online form below
Submission Deadline: Thursday, November 30, 2023

If you are unable to submit via the online form, please email poetry@operaomaha.org

All submitted poems will be printed in the Poetry & Music Project book which will be distributed to all poets, teachers, concert audience, and available online. The Poetry & Music Project book is also part of Omaha Public Library’s Zine collection.

Opera Omaha and Nebraska Writers Collective offer free writing workshops focused on adding musicality to students' writing. Facilitated by Nebraska Writers Collective Teaching Artists, these workshops aim to help participants understand the connection between poems and songs. These workshops cover a variety of poetical devices such as Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance, Anaphora and others and show how these devices make a piece of writing more sonically pleasing. The workshops add an additional layer of understanding for students who are interested in participating in the Poetry and Music Project.
There are a limited number of free workshops available and we may not be able to offer more than one free workshop per school.

September 2023 - Submissions Open
October & November 2023 - Writing Workshops
November 30, 2023 - Submission Deadline
December 2023- Composers Select Poems
January 2024 - Poets of Selected Pieces Notified, Composers Writing Time
February- Music Workshop with Composers and Poets of the Selected Pieces
April 2024- Poetry & Music Project Concert

Producing Partner

For More Information
Contact: Lauren Medici | Opera Omaha Director of Engagement Programs
Lmedici@operaomaha.org | 402-346-7372