Dear %%$first%%,

As summer kicks into high gear (finally!), we're here to remind you that the perfect pairing to a sunny patio and a cold beverage of your choice is the 3rd Annual Geist Erasure Poetry Contest. Don't believe us? Try it out for yourself.

There's $1000 in prizes and the Geist Erasure Trophy to be won, as well as publication in Geist and at geist.com. Oh yes, and literary fame, too.

The Erasure Poetry Contest asks you to create your own poetic masterpiece from an excerpt of Cottonopolis by Rachel Lebowitz—erasing letters, words and sentences until your own poetic genius emerges.

Visit geist.com/erasure for more details and to read the excerpt. The deadline is August 31, 2013, 11:59 pm PST.

Enter your poem, accompanied by the entry fee and brief cover letter, online by clicking here. Or mail submissions to:

The Geist Erasure Poetry Contest
210-111 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 1H4

All entries must be postmarked no later than August 31, 2013.