One of PST's central values is to encourage young poets. Long-time West Tennessee member Frances Cowden has been instrumental in this outreach, and has been recognized by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies for her work. Educator Seth Grindstaff carries on this tradition as lead for our student poetry contests in 2022-2023.
ABOUT OUR STUDENT CONTESTS
PST sponsors a contest open to all Tennessee students; non-residents may enter if they join PST as student members. Student categories are shown below:
2022/2023 PST STUDENT POETRY CONTEST
High School Division (Grades 9-12) Free Verse Poem — postmark deadline December 20th 2022
Middle School Division (Grades 6-8) Free Verse Poem— postmark deadline December 13th 2022
Elementary Division (Grades 2-5) Any Poem Form — postmark deadline February 18th 2023
Contest Awards: 1st place $25, 2nd $20, 3rd $15, 4th $10, and 5th $5.
Winners will be announced on the PST website in the spring. Winning poems will be published in Tennessee Voices.
Contest Guidelines
1. The competition is free and open to all Tennessee students in grades 2-12. Public, private, and home school students are eligible. Each student may submit only one poem. Non-Tennessee residents may compete by joining the Poetry Society of Tennessee as Student Members. www.poetrytennessee.org/membership.html
2. Formatting: Entries must follow the guidelines for their poems to be considered in the competition.
Your poem should be formatted as follows: single spaced, typed in Times News Roman font size 12 Your poem must not be longer than 35 lines (including line breaks between stanzas).
No line may have more than 60 characters (including spaces and punctuation).
Your poem must fit on a single sheet.
Your poem must have a title.
Do not include any illustrations or pictures.
3. Submit two copies of your poem for judging purposes.
Copy #1 (the “information” copy) must follow the example below.
The following information must be written on the top left corner of the paper above the poem.
division (elementary, middle, or high school) student’s first & last name
student’s grade
name of school
school street address
teacher’s prefix (Mr/Ms) & first & last name teacher’s email
The following statement should be typed and signed on the bottom of Copy #1 (the “information” copy):
I certify that this poem is my original work and has not been copied in whole or part from any authors’ poems published in print or on the Internet.
Signed: __________________________________________
Copy #2 (the “poem only” copy) must only include the “division” (elementary, middle, or high school) in the top left corner of the paper above the poem.
4. Teacher Submission Instructions
Student work will not be returned.
Do not staple Copy #1 and Copy #2 together.
All poems must be postmarked by Dec. 20th (high school), Dec. 13th (middle school), and Feb. 18th (elementary).. Mail entries to the following address:
Attn: Seth Grindstaff 220 Sunny Slopes Dr. Jonesborough, TN 37659
division (elementary, middle, or high school) student’s first & last name
student’s grade
name of school
school street address
teacher’s prefix (Mr/Ms) & first & last name teacher’s email
Poem Title
Poem Stanzas...
Get printer-friendly instructions
ABOUT OUR STUDENT CONTESTS
PST sponsors a contest open to all Tennessee students; non-residents may enter if they join PST as student members. Student categories are shown below:
- Elementary (Grades 2-5)
- Middle School (Grades 6-8)
- High School (Grades 9-12)
2022/2023 PST STUDENT POETRY CONTEST
High School Division (Grades 9-12) Free Verse Poem — postmark deadline December 20th 2022
Middle School Division (Grades 6-8) Free Verse Poem— postmark deadline December 13th 2022
Elementary Division (Grades 2-5) Any Poem Form — postmark deadline February 18th 2023
Contest Awards: 1st place $25, 2nd $20, 3rd $15, 4th $10, and 5th $5.
Winners will be announced on the PST website in the spring. Winning poems will be published in Tennessee Voices.
Contest Guidelines
1. The competition is free and open to all Tennessee students in grades 2-12. Public, private, and home school students are eligible. Each student may submit only one poem. Non-Tennessee residents may compete by joining the Poetry Society of Tennessee as Student Members. www.poetrytennessee.org/membership.html
2. Formatting: Entries must follow the guidelines for their poems to be considered in the competition.
Your poem should be formatted as follows: single spaced, typed in Times News Roman font size 12 Your poem must not be longer than 35 lines (including line breaks between stanzas).
No line may have more than 60 characters (including spaces and punctuation).
Your poem must fit on a single sheet.
Your poem must have a title.
Do not include any illustrations or pictures.
3. Submit two copies of your poem for judging purposes.
Copy #1 (the “information” copy) must follow the example below.
The following information must be written on the top left corner of the paper above the poem.
division (elementary, middle, or high school) student’s first & last name
student’s grade
name of school
school street address
teacher’s prefix (Mr/Ms) & first & last name teacher’s email
The following statement should be typed and signed on the bottom of Copy #1 (the “information” copy):
I certify that this poem is my original work and has not been copied in whole or part from any authors’ poems published in print or on the Internet.
Signed: __________________________________________
Copy #2 (the “poem only” copy) must only include the “division” (elementary, middle, or high school) in the top left corner of the paper above the poem.
4. Teacher Submission Instructions
Student work will not be returned.
Do not staple Copy #1 and Copy #2 together.
All poems must be postmarked by Dec. 20th (high school), Dec. 13th (middle school), and Feb. 18th (elementary).. Mail entries to the following address:
Attn: Seth Grindstaff 220 Sunny Slopes Dr. Jonesborough, TN 37659
division (elementary, middle, or high school) student’s first & last name
student’s grade
name of school
school street address
teacher’s prefix (Mr/Ms) & first & last name teacher’s email
Poem Title
Poem Stanzas...
Get printer-friendly instructions
EYE POEM CONTEST
Currently we do not have plans for an eye poem contest this year. Please check back in the future. We encourage the practice of eye poems, especially for students. See below for tips on how to create and eye poem.
Currently we do not have plans for an eye poem contest this year. Please check back in the future. We encourage the practice of eye poems, especially for students. See below for tips on how to create and eye poem.
Previous Year Winners
2021/2022 Student Contest Winners
2020/2021 Student Contest Winners
2020/2021 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - High School
2020/2021 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - Middle School
2019/2020 Student Contest Winners
2019/2020 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - Middle School
2018/2019 Student Contest Winners
2017/2018 Student Contest Winners
2017/2018 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - Elementary School
2017/2018 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - Middle School
2021/2022 Student Contest Winners
2020/2021 Student Contest Winners
2020/2021 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - High School
2020/2021 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - Middle School
2019/2020 Student Contest Winners
2019/2020 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - Middle School
2018/2019 Student Contest Winners
2017/2018 Student Contest Winners
2017/2018 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - Elementary School
2017/2018 Student Eye Poem Contest Winners - Middle School
National Student Poetry Contests
Annually, the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) sponsors the Manningham Trust Student Poetry Contest for middle and high school students. See the link here for further information. Winners of the PST contest are entered in the Manningham. In addition, students may enter NFSPS contests exclusively for students; see the NFSPS contests page.
Annually, the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) sponsors the Manningham Trust Student Poetry Contest for middle and high school students. See the link here for further information. Winners of the PST contest are entered in the Manningham. In addition, students may enter NFSPS contests exclusively for students; see the NFSPS contests page.
Student Membership
Students are invited to join the Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) at a reduced rate and enter Monthly Members-Only Contests. Click here for additional information on joining PST. This is a great opportunity to develop skills and even be published.
Students are invited to join the Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) at a reduced rate and enter Monthly Members-Only Contests. Click here for additional information on joining PST. This is a great opportunity to develop skills and even be published.
EYE POEM TIPS
The Eye Poem was invented by Kenneth L. Beaudoin (1913-1995), one of the founders of the Poetry Society of Tennessee.
In an Eye Poem, you create a poetic collage using visual and verbal imagery.
Create a free verse poem by combining images from magazine pages with words, phrases and clauses onto a single page. The objective is to create a mood or inspiration. Do not write a poem first and then look for pictures. The poem is a discovery of words that fit with the graphics. You should be able to read the poem from three feet away.
For examples -- Example #1 and Example #2.
For a short tutorial about Eye Poems, please click here. Many thanks to member Emily Williams for putting this together for us!
The Eye Poem was invented by Kenneth L. Beaudoin (1913-1995), one of the founders of the Poetry Society of Tennessee.
In an Eye Poem, you create a poetic collage using visual and verbal imagery.
Create a free verse poem by combining images from magazine pages with words, phrases and clauses onto a single page. The objective is to create a mood or inspiration. Do not write a poem first and then look for pictures. The poem is a discovery of words that fit with the graphics. You should be able to read the poem from three feet away.
- Find a picture or pictures up to 8 1/2 x 11 inches. Vertical is best.
- Go through one or more magazines and find words or phrases etc. that remind you of the graphics (pictures). Cut the words out neatly and place on the page of graphics. Do not use words smaller than 14 font. LARGE WORDS will be read louder and have more emphasis.
- Do not cut out letters to make a word.
- Position the words and images on the page; if the Eye Poem will be submitted for contests, publication, or will be framed, keep a border of white space around the poem so that no words or images are cropped during production/publication.
- The first line of your poem will be its title.
For examples -- Example #1 and Example #2.
For a short tutorial about Eye Poems, please click here. Many thanks to member Emily Williams for putting this together for us!
