Poetry of Resistance 2023-24

Youths ages 11 to 18 from around the world are invited to send their poems on social justice.  We are looking for original poems that encourage young readers to resist stereotyping and pre-judging social groups and individuals. We want poems that nurture mutual trust, love, and hope in a more just society. 

Writers of selected poems will win cash prizes and several poems will be chosen for publication.

1st place: $ 250

2nd place: $200

3rd place: $150

Submission is now closed. Thank you for sending us your poems! This year we have received over 1200 submissions, by far an unprecedented number for our contest!

We will post the results of the contest here by the of May. If your work is selected for publication, you will also be contacted by that time.

What is poetry of resistance?

Submission deadline: April 30, 2024. 

Writing Contest on Justice and Human Rights Results!

Thank you for sending us your stories!

our publication “SEE ME For Yourself” is now available!

Shanno Khan, India: Balaknama

Bárbara Giancola, Brazil: sunshine in Dona menina: essay on a transcendent friendship

Anonymous, Syria: Survivor's Story

Emilia mireles Moreno, Mexico: The Freedom to Be Different

Tina Li, USA: Now I Can Read the Fine Print (Mostly)

Siena Chai, USA: Dyslexia

Annastasia Malagon, USA: The Christian Stereotype

David Orta, USA: My Uncle Milan

Gabriel Hesting, USA: My Identity

Charles Kamya, Uganda: Surviving as an Orphan

We are looking for personal stories of justice, friendship, courage, patience, perseverance, kindness, forgiveness, humility, or sacrifice that help our readers question the fairness of categorizing and discriminating any social group or a person based on what they see in the media, social platforms or hear in daily conversations.

SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA 〰️

 

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Focus on Justice: Winners Announced!

Congratulations to the following students who won our photo contest!

Their work stood out among the almost 200 submissions we received from more than 10 countries.

see our publication with selected submissions

Gender Injustice by Damour Yuna

“I chose this photo because it is powerful on so many levels and could be interpreted in many ways which is what creates a strong work of art. I see gender inequality in this piece and the composition is beautifully depicted with the lack of interaction between both figures.” Sarah Weber

Behind the Landscape by Giovanna Ribeiro

”Behind the Landscape is an enticing image with wonderful contrasting values of dark and light in relation to the buildings and sky. The sky appears to offer hope with radiant light cast from the sun while the neighborhood below is overshadowed. Uneven systematic opportunities within low-income communities is imperative for others to understand and I was pleased to see this picture shedding light on such an important social justice issue.” Sarah Weber, artist and judge

Smashing the World Around Us by Megan Allan

“When initially viewing this photograph, I was drawn to the color, texture and cropping of the image. As I investigated it further, the concept became clearer with deterioration of ice and climate change as an evident message. I appreciate the abstraction initiated and analogy of earthy toned handheld tool and blue hues resonating as ice.” Sarah Weber, artist and judge

#Educationisnotacrime by Sayna Zahrai

‘I chose this piece because the screen message and symbolism of a blindfold over their eyes is very powerful. The prohibition of knowledge and education in various parts of the world speaks volumes in this work and I appreciate the artist's intent to shed light on this subject.” Sarah Weber, artist and judge.

"You Don't Know" by Helena Amado

“The concept of this photograph is powerful regarding concealing one’s identity of gender, race and social position and how this affects societal perception. The dark mood of this piece and achromatic values enhance the message as do the words presented.” Sarah Weber, artist and judge.

"Rallying Cry" by Claire Smith

“I admire the spontaneity and viewpoint captured in this photograph. There is energy and passion exhibited which demonstrates the strength of each individual voice. The foreground figure expresses intense emotion, almost as if I can hear her yelling while the surrounding women are actively engaged, inspired and equally supportive.” Sarah Weber, artist and judge.

"The Pursuit of Education" by Mariamawit Girmay

"Don't Silence Me" by Daylla Cristine Santos Silva

"Beauty is Pain (but not yours)" by Denis Marchitan

11-13 age group:

1st place: “Smashing the World Around Us” by Megan Allan (12), Aberdeen, Scotland

2nd place: “Behind the Landscape” by Giovanna Ribeiro (12), Salvador, Brazil

3rd place: “Gender Injustice” by Damour Yuna (11), Sainte-Marie île de la Reunion, France

 14-19 age group :

1st place : “You Don’t Know” by Helena Amado (16), Brasilia, Brazil

2nd place : “Rallying Cry” by Claire Smith (18), Kansas City, USA

3rd place : “#Educationisnotacrime” by Sayna Zahrai (16), Brasilia, Brazil

Honorable Mention:

“The Pursuit of Education” by Mariamawit Girmay (18), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“Beauty is Pain (but not yours)” by Denis Marchitan (15), Spain

“Don’t Silence Me” by Daylla Cristine Santos Silva (16), São Cristovão, Brazil

Art for Social Justice Contest (2020)

Thank you to all who participated in our Art contest. We had a hard time choosing only 3 winners among the 216 submissions we received, so we chose 5! you can see the winners below.

these are the finalists who received honorable mention.

Connie Creek, a Kansas City artist who chose the winning artworks, shared these words with the participants:

"I want to congratulate each student who entered the contest for finding the courage to address such difficult topics. Many pieces impact the viewer in meaningful ways. Although I found these five works very much equal in the artists' abilities to represent an important social issue through visual means, here are my reasons for the order.”

First place: “Aquecimento Global” (Global Warming) by Altiery Silva, age 18. Colégio Estadual João Dias Guimarães, São Fransisco, Brazil.

“I chose the piece Global Warming because although it is also an environmental issue it is, as the artist states so well, an issue that affects our entire planet--every single being on earth. It is a social concern that requires all societies in all countries to work together to protect our earth. The artist combined symbols representing time and nature with thought and skill to deliver the message.” Connie Creek

“The social issue that inspired me was global warming. I tried to represent the chosen theme in a broad way. I used the hourglass, which represents time, as the basis of the illustration and how it affects us. I also tried to show how our actions can harm us and harm everything around us: animals like the polar bear that depends on glaciers, which at the moment are melting quickly thanks to warming. At the bottom I represented pollution, which contributes to increased warming, harming all of us.” Altiery Silva

3rd Place: “Social Justice needs Change” by Manoela Moura, age 17. School of the Nations, Brasília, Brazil.

“For my art for social justice piece I chose to depict a protest inspired by the Black Lives Movement that started in the United States this year due to the case of George Floyd. Nonetheless, I decided to show in my work not only people protesting against racism, but also against various injustices that are faced daily in the reality we currently live in. Social Justice is the idea that everyone deserves equal economic and political rights and opportunities, and the populations I depicted in my artwork are commonly deprived from it. Each protest board in my drawing represents a group that commonly face social injustice, due to factors such as sexism, racism, homophobia, religious discrimination, and social class inequality. Therefore, the piece shows people fighting to stop this reality, with the intent of gaining their rights and access to the same opportunities as more privileged groups.”

1st place $250, 2nd place $150, 3rd place $100

Second place: “Não ao Silêncio” (Violence Against Women in Times of Pandemic) by Pedro Luiz, age 16. Centro de Excelência Vitória de Santa Maria, Aracaju, Brazil.

“A very close second is the piece, Violence Against Women. The photograph is powerfully graphic in delivering information almost too graphic for us to witness. The layout of the image adds to its emotional impact. Eliminating violence against women, as well as against many other groups, is an injustice that every country must grapple with and strive to eliminate." Connie Creek

“The art of photography represents here one of the greatest social injustices: violence against women's lives. The woman is a victim of violence inside and outside the home. The proliferation of this injustice is confirmed by statistics that point to alarming rates in this period of social isolation due to the pandemic. The art of photography in the philosophy of spaces screams for equality and respect!” Pedro Luiz

3rd Place: “Adeus à Educação” (Goodbye to Education) by Maria Eduarda Carvalho Silva Aragão, age 16, Ação Fraternal de Itabuna, Itabuna, Brazil.

“In my work, I represented this scenario of digital exclusion and difficulty in accessing distance education in an intense and clear way. The girl on the floor represents all the students who are missing their opportunities. I chose a black woman because it is black women who find it most difficult to study in Brazil, I thought it would be representative. School supplies that are flying with their wings represent education. The girl also has wings, but they were cut off, which can be seen from the bloody scissors on the floor and their plucked feathers. This girl's wings are the opportunity, the scissors that removed her feathers, the digital divide.”

3rd Place: “Dysphoria” by

Wesley Sterbach, age 15,

Shawnee Mission West, Overland Park, Kansas, United States.

“My social justice issue is transgender rights/awareness. As a trans man, people don’t understand the pain we feel on our day to day life. The feeling of imprisonment to our own bodies. My artwork shows the feelings I feel as a trans man. The pink (female) face that is splitting apart shows my outer appearance that is entangling the blue (make face) to show I feel trapped due to my dysphoria. The male face is to show the true person I am on the inside. And that my appearance does not define me and it will fall apart. In the end, I am a boy no matter my appearance. I painted this oil painting to show my struggle with self acceptance.”

Poetry of Resistance Book Now Available!

Authors:

Dana Abou-Diab, Joss Aiken

Michelle Maria Gómez Álvarez

Matheus Alves, Bhagyashree Barman

Audry Barré, Drizzle Bayer

Elizabeth Bowling, Rayna Bowman

Laila Carter, Mion Charity

Dominique Cuningkin, R´keria Davis

Krishi Desai, Shivani Deshmukh

Molly Duke, Taylor Drummer

Sophia Gotham, William Graham,

Augustus Hoff, Alexandre Joissains,

Katherine Kallas, Nataly Kazzi

Rehma Khan, Ashley Kim,

Jeanna Laine, Joanna Lau

Jasmine Li, Ileana Viridiana Romero Lopez

Minerva Macarrulla, Ava Minu-Sepehr

Pablo Montalvão, Priscila Oliveria Nascimento

Sidra Nizami, Rachel Otero

Trudy Pearce, Alex Perez

Hector Manuel Orreaga Ramirez

Paloma Ximena Becerril Ramirez

Chloe Jane Rosenstock, Natalie Rovello

Thayse Souza dos Santos

Giselly Kamily de Jesus Santos

Katherine Vandermel, Narine Verdiyan

Faith Emily Victoria, Somya Wadhwa,

Rialin S. Yasay

The World is Waking Up: Poetry of Resistance from Youth Around the World, a collection of the best poems submitted to the Poetry of Resistance Contest can be purchased HERE

Thank you so much to those who participated in our contest. We had more than 250 submissions from 18 US States and 12 countries around the world: Brazil, Mexico, Spain, France, England, Mozambique, Kenya, India, Pakistan, Philippines and China. We were humbled and honored to read your poems and witness their power and beauty.  

Ten judges, members of the SJC and a local poet, Annie Newcomer, deliberated for two weeks and the top 13 poems were sent to Slam Poetry World Champion, Joaquin Zihuatanejo. Below are this year’s winners:

1st place: “Between Dawn and Indigo” by Joanna Lau, New York

2nd place: “Baba in My Dream” by Ava Minu-Sepehr, Oregon

3rd place: “Thanksgiving” by Chloe Jane Rosenstock, California, “Fruit Fly Thoughts” by Krishi Desai, New Jersey, and “Arma das Minorias” by Priscila Oliveira Nascimento, Sergipe, Brazil.

Besides English, poems were submitted in French, Spanish and Portuguese