Poetry Maps Open Call - by artist Matthew Schembri

Poetry Maps is a project that will showcase several map outlines of island countries (the exact number is yet to be determined), created from poems printed in black ink on white sheets. Each poem will be written by a poet from an island nation, selected through this open call. The poetry maps will be printed in two copies: one will be displayed on a table in the exhibition space, whilst the other will be mailed to the respective poet.

Are you a poet from an island country?

If so, please send your poem to artist Matthew Schembri (who is also a writer and a poet) for a chance to have it, or a portion of it, transformed into an artistic map as part of an art installation in a collective exhibition in Malta. The exhibition, "Two Moons and Two Suns," will take place from 3 July to 20 August 2025 at the Malta Society of Arts, Upper Galleries in Valletta.

A poem will be chosen from each island nation by the artist, for inclusion in the project. If your poem is selected, you will receive a copy of the artwork as a token of our appreciation, which will be mailed to you by post.

Kindly submit your entries to poetrymapsmalta@gmail.com by the deadline of 7th May 2025, 12 pm local time (Malta, GMT+1). In the email, please let us know from which country island you are.

Some more information

·      Each poet can submit one poem.

·      Poets can be of any age and experience level, but they must be from the island countries listed below.

·      There is no specific theme, length limit, or preferred formatting for the text.

·      The poem can be published or unpublished.

·      Please send the poem in both the original language and its English translation. If you do not have an English translation, please reach out to us anyway.

·      Please send us a copy of the poem in both .doc and .pdf formats.

·      Poems should be submitted to poetrymapsmalta@gmail.com. The deadline is 7th May 2025, 12 pm local time (Malta, GMT+1). In the email, please let us know from which country island you are.

·      There is no entry fee.

·      The artist, who is also a poet, will make the selections. Unfortunately, feedback cannot be provided for unselected poems.

·      Of course, the author will retain all rights to the submitted poem.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at poetrymapsmalta@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving your work and we hope to collaborate with you!

More information about the project:

Poetry Maps is a project that will showcase several map outlines of island countries (the exact number is yet to be determined), created from poems printed in black ink on white sheets. Each poem will be written by a poet from an island nation, selected through this open call. The poetry maps will be printed in two copies: one will be displayed on a table in the exhibition space, whilst the other will be mailed to the respective poet.

More information about the exhibition can be found here.

More information about the main artist can be found here.

More information about the exhibition venue can be found here.

* List of eligible island countries:

Aland Islands (or Åland); American Samoa; Andamar and Nicobar Islands; Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina (or San Andrés and Providencia); Aruba; Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Bahamas; Bahrain; Barbados; Bermuda; Bouvet Island; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Brunei; Cape Verde; Caribbean Netherlands; Cayman Islands; Christmas Island; Cocos (or Keeling) Islands; Comoros; Cook Islands; Cuba; Curaçao; Cyprus; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ducie and Oeno Islands; East Timor; Easter Island; Falkland Islands; Faroe Islands; Federated States of Micronesia (or Micronesia); Fiji; French Polynesia; French Southern and Antarctic Lands; Galápagos Islands; Greenland; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guam; Guernsey; Haiti; Heard and McDonald Islands; Henderson; Iceland; Indonesia; Ireland; Isle of Man; Jamaica; Jan Mayen; Japan; Jersey; Juan Fernandez Islands; Kiribati; Lakshadweep; Macau; Madagascar; Maldives; Malta; Marshall Islands; Martinique; Mauritius; Mayotte; Montserrat; Nauru; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Niue; Norfolk Island; Northern Cyprus; Northern Mariana Islands; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Pitcairn; Puerto Rico; Republic of China (or Taiwan); Réunion; Saint Barthélemy; Saint Helena; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Seychelles; Singapore; Sint Maarten; Solomon Islands; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Sri Lanka; Svalbard; São Tomé and Príncipe; Tokelau; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands; Tuvalu; U.S. Virgin Islands; United Kingdom; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Vanuatu; Wallis and Futuna.

Don’t see your country island and want to send us your poem? Let us know!

This is an example of how the poetry map might look: