Some TCU faculty members are hoping to reward students for reflecting on the world around them through poetry.

The TCU Contemplative Poetry Contest is sponsored by TCU Contemplative Studies Faculty Interest Group, AddRan College of Liberal Arts, eleven40seven and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.

“We really want people to focus on contemplative practice,” said Dr. Dave Aftandilian, a member of the steering committee for the faculty group. “What does it feel like to meditate? What does it feel like to run or surf or do any activity mindfully? And then reflect on that in their poetry.”

Dr. Andrew Fort, the leader of the Contemplative Studies Faculty Interest Group, added by email that poetry naturally leads to contemplation.

Fort said poetry “generally concentrates the mind and naturally leads to contemplative reflection.”

Aftandilian said poetry can reach a different part of the student then most academic work.

“A student is not just a brain. A student has a heart and they have things they care about,” Aftandilian said. “And so it can be a different way to reach a different part of the whole person who is the student.”

Any currently registered undergraduate student at TCU is eligible to compete. Students can submit up to three poems for consideration. Cash prizes will be awarded, including a $150 first-place prize and up to two $50 honorable mentions.

Dr. Mark Dennis, another steering member of the interest group, said he wants students’ interests in contemplative studies to be sparked by the contest.

“We are hoping that students will experience the joy that comes out of engaging in creative activity, but also that they may become interested in participating in our student Contemplative Studies group,” Dennis said.

To submit your poems or for full contest rules, students can visit https://eleven40seven.submittable.com/submit . The deadline for submissions is Feb. 27.

For more information about this contest, contact Dr. Dave Aftandilian at [email protected].