04/03/2025
OHEN is passing along this information for your interest. OHEN is not affiliated with this group. For more information, please contact the group directly.
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The Oregon Poetry Association wishes you a happy National Poetry Month. Our Cascadia Youth Poetry contest closes on May 2nd. So, what a great month it is to encourage your students to submit their poems for a chance at cash and publication!
To submit, access the following link, then click the "submit" button next to the "2025 Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest": https://opa.submittable.com.
Once again, submission guidelines and contest rules are posted below. We've also attached several flyers for you all to share with fellow educators or post in your schools/classrooms. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the contest co-chairs: Ty Brack, [email protected], and Julia Gaskill, [email protected].
2025 Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest
Poems accepted March 2 – May 2, 2025, via Submittable.
Division I: Kindergarten – Grade 5
Division II: Grade 6 – Grade 9
Division III: Grade 10 – Grade 12
Contest open to all K-12 students who are residents of the state of Oregon, including public, private, magnet, charter, parochial, incarcerated, and home-school students. There is no entry fee.
Up to ten winners will be selected per division. Each winner will receive a $50 prize and publication in the next issue of Cascadia. Winners will be announced to all entrants in early June, 2025. OPA will host a celebratory reading for the winning poets in late June via Zoom.
All winners in Divisions II and III are encouraged to enter into the nationwide 2025 Manningham Trust Student Contest sponsored by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. This contest also awards cash prizes and publication.
Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest Submission Guidelines
1. Each student may submit one original poem (of their own, individual creative work) on any subject, in any style, form, or language. Bilingual poems are also encouraged. Co-written and collaborative poems will be disqualified.
2. The poem should be uploaded to Submittable by the student or their teacher in a .doc or .docx file.
3. The Submittable form requires that each poet submit the following information with their entry:
Student’s Name
Student’s School
School Location (Town)
Student’s Grade
Student’s Email
Parent/Guardian’s Email
Parent/Guardian’s mailing address
Student’s Teacher
Teacher’s Email
Confirmation of Oregon Residence
Confirmation of Original Content
Contact information is for notification purposes only and will not be shared.
4. Submissions with incomplete Submittable forms will be disqualified.
5. The contest deadline is May 2, 2025. Contact Co-Contest Chairs Ty Brack ([email protected]) and/or Julia Gaskill ([email protected]) with questions or difficulties using the Submittable platform.
Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest Judges
Three well-qualified judges have been selected to judge this year’s entries – Mindy Nettifee, Brennan DeFrisco, and Jae Nichelle.
Selection of Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest Winners
The Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest seeks entries written by student poets from all backgrounds, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, language, religion, national origin, s*x, gender identity, ancestry, or disability.
The Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest winners will be selected by a panel of qualified judges selected by the Oregon Poetry Association’s Executive Board.
Judges will read all poems submitted in their Divisions and select finalists. Up to ten finalists from each Division will be selected as winners.
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