Essay contest open to entire world

Lettre International, a Berlin-based cultural quarterly, and the German city of Weimar, which is designated as the 1999 European City of Culture, are inviting the public from around the globe to enter an essay contest.

Through the contest, the organizers hope to encourage participants from different countries to achieve "a globalization of the mind." Applicants should write an essay to answer the question: "Liberating the future from the past? Liberating the past from the future?"

Essays can be written in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish or German. Only original, unpublished essays will be considered by the jury. The first prize winner will receive DM50,000. Other outstanding applicants will also receive prizes.

Entries must be postmarked no later than Nov. 30. For more information, write to the International Essay Prize Contest, Rosenthaler Strasse 13, 10119 Berlin, Germany, e-mail the quarterly at [email protected] or access its home page at http://www.weimar1999.de/Essay-Contest