37th Annual Poetry Competition
Poetry is a theorem of a yellow-silk handkerchief knotted with riddles, sealed in a balloon tied to the tail of a kite flying in a white wind against a blue sky in spring.
—"Poetry is..." by Carl Sandburg
Submissions accepted Nov. 1, 2025-March 23, 2026.
Winners will be announced March 31, 2026 via email and on our social media pages.
The winners banquet (invite only) will be held the evening of April 23, 2026 at Sandburg's Galesburg campus.
Competition rules
- Poems must be 100% original (including no use of AI), previously unpublished, and no more than two pages in length.
- Poets may enter only one poem.
- Teachers may submit poems on behalf of students.
- Poets must live in Sandburg district 518 or within 200 miles of it, or must have attended or currently be attending Sandburg.
- Word docs are preferred, PDFs accepted as well.
Submission forms
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