National Poetry Month Contests for Teens and Adults

April is National Poetry Month, a special occasion that recognizes poetry in all its forms as well as poets' integral role in our culture. Celebrate with us by joining a program, opens a new window, checking out a poetry book, opens a new window or entering one of our poetry contests! This year, we're bringing back our Blackout Poetry Contest for teens and launching our first annual Highlight Poetry Contest for adults.

Blackout Poetry Contest for Teens

  • Creating Blackout Poetry is easy! Take a page with words written on it, such as a book page or magazine article.
  • Grab a marker to cross out the words you don't want, leaving the words you do.
  • Soon you'll have created a poem!

Highlight Poetry Contest for Adults

  • Choose a page with words on it.
  • Grab a highlighter and highlight the words you want, creating a one-of-a-kind poem.
  • Work on it until you like the result – be as creative as possible!

Poetry stations with supplies will be available at every PLYMC location throughout April. Once you've completed your poem, paste it to the contest entry form and fill out the information on the bottom to receive credit.

Turn in your poem at any PLYMC branch, opens a new window by April 30. Three winners will be chosen for each contest and awarded a prize!