Welcome to the 26th Anniversary of the Carl Sandburg Student Poetry Contest!
Students are invited to submit a poem to Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site’s annual Student Poetry Contest. The contest encourages youth to explore writing their own poetry and is open to students nationwide!
Submissions are accepted from grades 3-12 and must be submitted by email by Monday March 4, 2024. See below for submission rules.
Winners will be notified by April 7, 2024, and will be invited to participate in a virtual celebration program on Sunday, April 28.
2024 Contest Rules
Poetry accepted from 3-12th grades only. Poems will be grouped for judging by 3-5th, 6-8th, and 9-12th.
Poems must be submitted by a teacher (traditional classroom or homeschool teacher).
No more than three poems per class. Teachers with multiple classes, can submit up to three poems per class period.
Poem will be judged on its ability to communicate the theme.
Poem can be written in any style but must not exceed one-page in length. No illustrations.
Poems must be typed, no handwritten entries, using standard computer fonts, like Times, Arial, etc...
After completing and submitting this form, the poem should be emailed to carl_education@nps.gov.
Poem should be submitted as one file as a .pdf only.
There are several free apps to turn a phone pic into a .pdf if you don't have a scanner available.
File name should be StudentLastName_PoemName.pdf
Do not place any identifying information (name, school, grade, etc...) on poem sheet. The file name will be used to match with this form submission.
Judges from the literary community will make the decision for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place within each grade category (3-5th, 6-8th, 9-12th).
Poetry Partners
The 2023 Poetry Contest is a result of tremendous community support including the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, and literary volunteers who serve as judges. Thank you!
