We’re getting down to the wire! There is one week left to submit your poem about Niagara Falls to the Niagara Falls Poetry Project 25th Anniversary Poetry Contest!!
The judges have sharpened their pencils and are eagerly awaiting reading the submissions!
The curator is feverishly working at getting all of the submission ready for the print anthology of the winners and contestants that will hopefully be available later this year.
It’s been about 19 years since I arrived in Andrew’s life.
Over that time I’ve watched while he quietly and without a lot of fanfare, acted on his passion for all things Niagara. A few of the many examples to which I saw him dedicate countless hours and energy:
…. His professional life which included being the Local History guru at the Niagara Falls Public Library where he vastly expanded the online collection of text and images important in the life of Niagara Falls, rescuing a number of collections from local photographers and the Niagara Falls Review.
…. Documenting in photos a year in the life of Niagara Falls, with photos taken every morning from the same spot on the Rainbow Bridge. Even on those days he wasn’t working first thing in the morning…weekends, Mondays, Tuesdays, holidays…he’d drive from Fort Erie to Niagara Falls around 8:30 in the morning, pay the bridge’s pedestrian toll, stand on the bridge to take a photo even if it was so foggy you couldn’t see the Falls, then go through customs to get back into Canada. He combined those photos with appropriate poems about the Falls, and 10 years ago published them in a book entitled Niagara Mornings.
….And his most passionate and long-lasting project, searching out, collecting, and recording all the poetry about Niagara Falls or by Niagara area poets on both sides of the border which we are celebrating today. Andrew’s talked about the many aspects of his journey with the Poetry Project, but my view is from behind-the-scenes…the long hours he spent poring over books, chasing copyrights, contacting poets, answering questions from interested readers and so much more.
Thanks you Andrew. for your passion and your dedication to contributing to the common good.
Congratulations on this celebration of 25 years of your enthusiasm and commitment.
Now to finish…
There was a young man from Niagara
Discovered just one rhyme – Viagra
How often, dear sir,
Has this one word occurred
And forced you to post crazy word slaw
Source: Louise Waldie, 2026
Louise Waldie is the retired head of the IT project management office of a major national insurance company, and wife of Andrew Porteus. She has been active for many years on the executive of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Social Club, and as a volunteer personal shopper for people in Northern Canada who do not have access to retail outlets. In their multigenerational complex blended family , Louise and Andrew have 5 children and 11 grandchildren with assorted spouses, and a great-grandchild.
Listen to Kimiko Hahn performing “Maud Willard and Her Niagara Falls Stunt, 1901”
Maud Willard With Barrel
The barrel with Maud and her dog
shoots into the rapids’ familiar tossing
then to a swirling of strange currents.
Into the whirlpool, they sink from sight,
sucked into its merciless depths.
The barrel with Maud and her dog
then springs from the maelstrom,
courses far from tourists on shore
in the swirling of strange currents.
Now dark–a search light into the gorge
illuminates the thrashing waves and
the barrel with Maud and her dog.
Five hours–the woman’s been imprisoned
in the rolling, revolving waters
till from that strange swirl of currents
the men catch the cask though only the pet
—nose seen in an air hole—leaps out.
The Tale of Daredevil Maud and Her Dog
is still strangely swirling. And current.
Source: Kimiko Hahn, 2026
Kimiko Hahn, New York State Poet Laureate, wrote and performed this poem for the Niagara Falls Poetry Project’s 25th Anniversary, where it was featured at the April 9, 2026 event launching the Poetry Contest. Click here for information about the contest and the event.
As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project on April 9, 2026, Shannon Mitchell on behalf of MPP Wayne Gates presented this congratulatory certificate.
At the celebration, each speaker was introduced with a limerick, and each of the speakers was invited to write and perform a poem of their own.
MPP Wayne Gates speaking in the Ontario Legislature
The introduction to MPP Wayne Gates, written and recited by Andrew Porteus, read:
Our dear MPP is Wayne Gates
And havoc at Queen’s Park he creates
He’s got quite the ‘stache
That makes such a flash
When a cabinet minister he berates
Shannon Mitchell wrote and recited a haiku at the event:
Ontario budget Deep cuts across the board Community rises
Welcome to the Niagara Falls Poetry Project 25th Anniversary Poetry Competition, a juried competition with poems in any form, on the theme of Niagara Falls, (the waterfalls and/or the two cities), with a special award for the poem that best exemplifies the “Spirit of Niagara Falls.” Poems will be added to the website, and published in an anthology of Niagara poetry.
There will be a first place prize of $200, a second place prize of $100, and a third place prize of $50. In addition there will be a $200 prize for the the poem that best exemplifies the “Spirit of Niagara Falls.”
Niagara Falls Poetry Contest Rules
Theme:
Niagara Falls (waterfalls & 2 cities) & Niagara River
Poems can be descriptive, philosophical, spiritual, historical, personal, or anything else as long as there is some connection to Niagara Falls, and not just a casual mention (see the NFPP website at https://niagarapoetry.ca to see the range of poetry accepted).
There will be a first prize winner of $200, a second prize winner of $100, and a third prize winner of $50
In addition, there will be a $200 prize for the poem that best captures the Spirit of Niagara Falls
Format:
No AI generated poems
Any poetical form accepted
Maximum 100 lines
English language or translation – judging will be on the English language translation, not the original language
May be previously published or already on the NFPP site
$5 entry fee, covers a maximum of 3 poems
No gratuitous sex, violence, racism, or hate speech
Judges may not submit a poem to the contest, but will get a free entry on the website & in the anthology, and a free copy of the anthology
How to submit:
Submit in both a standard editing format and as a .pdf
Include a cover page with name, contact information, title, and biography, with an optional head shot (300 dpi minimum)
No identifying information on poem page
Optional Include an image illustrating the poem (min 300 dpi, 600 preferred, jpg), your copyright, copyright free, or from a place copyright can easily be obtained.
Submit payment through etransfer (preferred) or PayPal to poetrycontest@niagarapoetry.ca with message “Contest entry for [Your Name]”
Once submitted the poem cannot be changed
Contest closes at 11:59 pm August 15, 2026 (Eastern Daylight Time)
By entering the contest you:
Agree to have your poem published on the NFPP website & in the 25th anniversary anthology, at the NFPP curator’s discretion (Not all entries will necessarily be published online or in the print anthology)
Receive a 15% discount when ordering the print anthology
