The Jeffrey L. Weisberg Memorial Prize in Poetry

The family and friends of Jeffrey L. Weisberg have established as a memorial two annual prizes in poetry. The Weisberg Prize is for the best poems submitted by freshmen or sophomores at the University of Michigan. No specific form is suggested for this contest.

Jeffrey L. Weisberg received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1972, and his Master’s Degree in 1973. He won a Summer Hopwood Poetry Award in 1973. On March 17, 1977, while teaching at Dade Community College in Florida, he was killed in an automobile accident. His degree as Doctor of Arts was awarded posthumously in August, 1977.

Rules of Eligibility

The award is open to all freshman and sophomore University of Michigan students with no particular course or hour requirements. Only one poem may be submitted in the contest. The following restrictions apply:

• No student who has won this award may compete again in the contest, nor may a winning poem be subsequently entered in any other Hopwood Program Contest, with the exception of fellowship/scholarship contests.
• No poem that has been published in a medium other than a college or high school magazine or newspaper may be entered in the contest.

Manuscript

Entries should be in 10-12 point font, with margins of at least 1 inch, in PDF format. A contestant must use a pen name - one that is entirely different from their real name. Please make sure that the pen name in your profile matches the one on the PDF. This name should only appear on the title page, nowhere else in the manuscript.  

The PDF must have a title page on which shall appear: 

• The title
• The pen name
• The contest (e.g., the Jeffrey L. Weisberg Memorial Prize in Poetry)