Call to Poetry
TALK OF THE TOWN: CHAPEL HILL MIXTAPE
A creative writing, performance, and recording series
Triangle-area creative writers, poets, emcees, lyricists, and storytellers are invited to write and read their own poems in this workshop series that amplifies the intergenerational narratives of those who call Chapel Hill home.
Selected participants will attend writing workshops and recording sessions from October 2025 – July 2026, contributing to a collaborative community mixtape to be released in November 2026. Chapel Hill Poet Laureate Dr. Donovan Livingston will lead these workshops and sessions, guiding participants as they develop and finalize their work.
Community members of all abilities and poetic experience are welcome to participate. See eligibility details below.
To apply, you’ll need to respond to one of the following prompts with an original poem:
- Describe what is beautiful about your life in Chapel Hill.
- What has changed about Chapel Hill, and how has that changed you?
- Describe a physical place in Chapel Hill that makes you feel any of the following ways: hopeful, inspired, curious, challenged, or conflicted
- In 2026, the Town of Chapel Hill celebrates the 175th anniversary of its incorporation. If you could offer words of wisdom to Chapel Hill residents 175 years in the future, what would you say?
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, November 3, 2025 at 5pm
Applications are now closed.
Sponsored by Chapel Hill Public Library, Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Music. We seek vibrant storytelling that reflects community members’ experiential knowledge of life in Chapel Hill.
