SELTI

“Blakeley State Park” Wins Faulkner 2018 Alabama Tourism Poetry Contest

Civil War Reenactment at Blakeley State Park . Photo provided by Kathy Hicks, Blakeley State Park.

SELTI was proud to sponsor the cash prizes for the Faulkner 2018 Alabama Tourism Poetry Contest, conducted by Faulkner University and judged by Alabama Poet Laureate Jennifer Horne. Faulkner University is taking the first steps in challenging its students to promote tourism destinations directly through literature. Whether through poems, short stories, or novels, literature offers one of the most exciting ways to attract new tourists to unique attractions around the country. Universities offer the largest pool of future literary talent to draw upon in harnessing this new tool for promoting tourism and boosting economic development.

This year’s winner was “Blakeley State Park” by Faulkner student Michael J. Walker. His poem introduces readers to the real life setting of one of the last battles fought in the Civil War. The state park today offers a powerful way to step into that world by visiting the battlefield and the entrenchments that still stand. Please learn more about touring Blakeley State Park and its reenactments  by visiting its website.

Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s contest:
Grand Prize- ($50) Michael J Walker for “Blakeley State Park”
1st Prize Winner- ($25) Kyana King for “The Beach”
2nd Prize Winner- ($25) Tracy Dees for “Port City, Home of the Boom Boom”
3rd Prize Winner (Honorable Mention)- Andre Jones for “The Duck Boat”

“Blakeley State Park”

by Michael J Walker

Across the Bay from Mobile
Lies a hidden treasure
Not of Silver or Gold
But of earth and wood
Blakeley State Park
Where a battle was fought
Men bled and died on both sides
For a cause they believed
We can visit there today
To see where they fell
We can walk where they walked
We can stand where they stood
As they faced one another
Over 150 years ago
Many say if you stay overnight
You can still hear the cannon
Or perhaps see a ghost
Of a long dead soldier
Still marching his post
Visit Blakeley and step back in time
To a long time ago
That should not be forgotten